Tuesday; March 14

Through the years public service jobs typically have not paid much. Professions such as teachers, law enforcement officers, ministers, nurses, counselors and others in the “helper professions” have been notorious for low wages – but they have been high in job satisfaction. People who enter these professions do so to help others, not to get rich. It’s almost they feel compelled to do the job to make a difference, not to make a bundle. Over the last few years, society has done a better job of raising pay for these professions, but as we do that, I wonder if we are pricing ourselves out of compassion. When we raise the pay, do we lower the desire to do these jobs for their intrinsic value? When we start to lobby for pay increases or hire people into the field because we can pay competitive wages are we inviting dissatisfaction into the ranks? We must maintain the passion for the profession or we may be tempted to concentrate on matching the wages others are making and not focusing as much on the difference we should be making?

I have spent most of my professional career in this type of employment, so I am sensitive to salaries. While I want us to pay the people who provide public service to us a living wage, I also believe it is incumbent on those of us in those professions to never lose sight of why we are doing what we are doing. Let’s find the balance between taking care of our families and taking care of the people we have been called to serve.

Think About It!

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