#344: Absence makes the evil thought

As I watch happy families rushing around collecting presents like squirrels gathering nuts, it is clear to me that money is not the root of all evil.

But then I remember the unhappy families, the ones forced by circumstances beyond their control to be spectators to this year’s shopping frenzy. That’s when I know George Bernard Shaw was right when he said that the lack of money is the root of all evil.

More than 50 years ago Frederick Herzberg warned managers about this evil. His research showed that money in itself does not motivate. Rather, it is the absence of money in the form of a good salary that demotivates.

Herzberg was wrong, sort of. The absence of money doesn’t just demotivate. The way our economy is structured, the absence of money makes one desperate. And as I watch happy families spending freely, I cannot help but think a few evil thoughts.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

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