Emotional salary: what it is and everything you need to know about the concept

If you have never heard about Emotional Salary, don't worry, as this is still a recent term in the world of management.

Most professionals have never even heard this term, but, especially if you are a manager, it is crucial that you know it in order to improve processes in your company.

In today's material we will talk a little about this subject, in order to resolve all doubts related to it.

So, if you want to learn about the subject and still know how to put this idea into practice, keep reading!

Emotional salary: what is truly important for your professional life?

Most people believe that the most important factor in approving a job offer is the monetary salary.

And, in fact, this view is not wrong, since it is difficult for us to accept a proposal that is below our value in the professional market.

But, when the question changes to “what reasons made you leave a job?” It is simple to notice that the salary drops drastically depending on the position.

This is because we can cite numerous reasons for leaving a job other than salary, such as:

• Lack of time for studies;
• Distance from where you live (spending 3 hours to get to work drives anyone crazy);
• Lack of benefits such as food vouchers, daycare allowance, etc.;
• Unhealthy work environment;
• Unrealistic goals;
• Few days a week for rest (on a 6×1 scale);
• Difficulty in maintaining health due to lack of incentive: the company does not provide health insurance or does not accept certificates, among other examples;
• Disrespect for the professional's duties (a salesperson cleaning the bathroom, for example);
• Lack of promotion prospects;
• Inequality between positions (only some positions receive benefits or prominence);
• Bad taste “treats” (like leaving 1 hour early on your birthday. Is that serious?);
• Among countless other examples.

All these problems weigh on the professional's routine, so that he becomes increasingly unmotivated, until he gives up and resigns.

So, as important as monetary salary is, emotional salary is even more so, and below we will understand this concept in detail.

Understand what an emotional salary is and why you should have one

Previously we saw several examples of situations that push professionals to the limit, to the point of giving up their job, even if the salary is fair.

This opens up space for us to understand what emotional salary is, a term that has been increasingly discussed in company HR departments.

An emotional salary is nothing more than a set of strategies and benefits adopted by the company with the aim of promoting contentment and comfort to employees.

Thus, while the monetary salary offers financial return, the emotional salary is offered with the aim of reducing situations that cause emotional harm to employees.

And, considering that an inadequate professional environment is the main responsible for employee dismissals, this is a very important topic.

Therefore, if the company you work for does not have the culture of offering an environment and benefits that make employees happy, it is important to be alert.

This is because, over time, you are likely to become increasingly dissatisfied, which can bring harm to your personal life as well.

What is the relationship between emotional salary and flexible benefits?

If you don't know what flexible benefits are, they are all those that do not have a legal provision, so they are paid by companies with the well-being of employees in mind.

Examples of flexible benefits are: GYMPass, Salary advance, Childcare allowance, Study incentive and many others.

That clarified, we can return to our subject, after all, what is the relationship between emotional salary and flexible benefits?

Although emotional salary is not just about “pleasing” employees, flexible benefits can be of great help in this mission.

This is because, associated with a respectful and appropriate professional environment, this type of benefit can be interpreted by employees as advantages, in addition to guaranteeing their quality of life.

So, if you want to start implementing emotional salary in your company, it's worth studying flexible benefits!

This might interest you: 5 benefits to promote employee well-being and the importance of doing so – VitalyBrasil.

Conversation with managers: tips for promoting emotional pay in your company

After everything we've talked about, the concept of emotional salary is no longer a stranger to you.

And, if you are a manager, now the conversation will focus on helping you, as you are likely to see the importance of adhering to emotional salary in your company.

See some tips below:

1. Know your team's profile

Do you remember all the problems we presented previously related to employee discontent? 

It is important to say that not all of these problems will appear, as they depend on the company's profile and also the team.

So, the first step to starting to implement emotional salary in your company is precisely to understand what are the most important points for your team.

For example, if your team is made up mostly of mothers, the emotional needs are more specific, such as: daycare assistance, freedom of time to take children to the doctor, health assistance, incentive programs for mothers to enter the market, between others.

If your team is mostly made up of young people, encouraging studies and an emotionally encouraging environment can be great.

So, evaluate this point carefully.

2. Put yourself in the other person's shoes 

A big mistake that many companies make when launching emotional salary strategies is precisely to bet on generic ideas, just to appear that management cares about employees.

Want an example of this? The candy on the employee's desk right after he reached a goal of R$ 140 thousand. We don't even need to talk about the terrible feeling this causes him, right?

Emotional salary will only be present when management starts to truly care about the team, putting themselves in people's shoes.

So, if you wouldn't like the “surprise” of being promoted with an increase of R$ 100.00 in salary and ten new assignments, why would your employee?

So, think of ideas that really promote encouragement, happiness and a sense of belonging to a place that truly cares.

3. Think about a structural change in team leadership 

The example of the candy we gave previously is excellent for illustrating how, sometimes, leaders don't realize that they are making “little of a difference” to their employees.

This is because the effort to reach a goal of R$ 140 thousand is certainly not small, and a candy of R$ 1.50 as a reward may seem like mockery.

This is because, even if indirectly, this attitude gives the impression that the manager believes that the effort was as simple as the reward.

And, no, we're not saying that you should give R$ 140 thousand as a reward, but a more personalized idea and proportional to the effort would certainly be much better.

So, change the way you think and manage, and see your employees as extremely important talents for your business.

This way, it will certainly be much simpler to find good emotional salary measures, which really offer the necessary content to the team!

Read too: Habits to avoid in the workplace: see the main ones – VitalyBrasil.