Have you ever visited Pity City? You know, the place where you feel sorry for yourself and all your problems? I think we’ve all been there before.

At Financial Samurai, we accept our situation and take action to make things better. Complaining why life isn’t fair is not the Financial Samurai way!

We are all given different strengths and weaknesses. Some of us have serious disabilities to overcome. How we make the most of our differences is what matters. We always fight on!

However, I’ve never actually been told to go visit Pity City before and then suck it up by someone earning millions of dollars. OK, maybe I have, but not in the way the CEO of MillerKnoll told her employees over a video call.

Don’t Live In Pity City You Mendicant Employees!

Have a listen for yourself as she addresses an employee’s question about how to stay motivated if they aren’t getting any bonuses.

“Don’t ask about what are we going to do if we don’t get a bonus, go get the damn $26 million! Spend your time and your effort thinking about the $26 million and not thinking about what you are going to do if you don’t get a bonus! Alright?! Can I get some commitment for that? I’d really appreciate that.” Andi Owen says.

She goes on to say, “I had an old boss who said to me one time, ‘You can visit Pity City, but you can’t live there.’ People, leave Pity City and let’s get it done! Thank you. Have a great… day.”

Yikes! When your employees are feeling down, the last thing you want to do is piss on them.

Easy To Leave Pity City When You Make Millions Of Dollars A Year

I understand Owen’s message about hustling and closing deals, especially in a difficult environment. Managing people, let alone an entire company is hard!

However, it’s disturbing to see how easily agitated she gets about lower-paid employees asking about compensation. There must have been some nasty anonymous feedback left for her to speak in such a way.

If you’ve ever wondered why it’s so hard to ask for a raise, responses like this are it! It’s even harder to ask for a raise in a face-to-face meeting. But the best time to do so and set expectations is during your formal review.

Andi Owen received $1.29 million in bonuses in 2022 and $1.12 million in 2021. Her total compensation in 2022 was over $5 million. If she gets another seven-figure bonus in 2023, I’m assuming the majority of her employees will look for new jobs.

If Andi Owen received $0 bonus and cut her salary, her rally cry for employees to work harder and not care as much about their compensation would have been better taken. But the MillerKnolls CEO is a top 0.1% earner who makes millions a year.

Oh crap, and I just learned Andi Owen is a fellow William & Mary alumni. Sorry! Most graduates I’ve met from this fine public institution are quite humble.

Employers Don’t Care As Much About You As You Think

The only way public-company CEOs can make million-dollar salaries and multi-million-dollar bonuses is if the company performs well. And the main way companies perform well is if their employees increase productivity.

Hence, your boss cares about employees to the extent that they perform at the highest level. Asking for raises hurts short-term profitability and therefore management compensation.

Yes, there will be team-building events and rally cries to get employees motivated. But the sooner you look beyond the main purpose of these events – to get you to work more for less – the better you’ll be.

Most bosses keep their disdain for their employees private. Don’t think they aren’t talking about layoff plans, productivity schemes, and their disgust for quiet quitters behind closed doors.

Your Job Should Not Be Your Life

In this day and age of cu