Hypocrisy In Seeking Money As An Employer And Employee

One thing people might hear about business is that an employer will or should always only be concerned for the financial or reputational impact of something on their company, from employees to customer relations to product/service quality.  This excuse is given when a business leader does something cruel, selfish, or apathetic towards anything but profitability.  After all, "it's a business, not a charity," some insist.  Yes, a business is not a charity, but neither has to be driven by greed.

The hypocrisy--though the assumptions and selfishness are already irrational--is that the same people who believe these ideas almost universally believe that workers should not be motivated by money, either at all or primarily.  Employees are expected to labor sometimes more intensely than those above them for a usually much smaller level of reward, not even enough to live comfortably or without the assistance of family.  They are treated as useful tools to be discarded at whim.

In many cases, employers are only involved in business for money that they no longer need or for extended wealth, reputation, or power, while they will try to make employees feel bad or outright penalize them for openly wanting to just earn money they need to do more than merely survive.  The latter is not greed.  It is not the invalid elevation of money, status, or materialism over most things or all else.  However, employers might be encouraged to do the same thing employees are condemned for by some.

Something that is immoral in itself is immoral for everyone.  Wanting to survive or prosper is not synonymous with greed as it is, but the inconsistency of thinking that being an employer or worker is what makes this morally legitimate or problematic would be obvious to anyone who does not make assumptions.  Either as a business owner or employee, the same moral obligations would exist when it comes to neither being materialistic with money nor ignoring that there is no ultimate reason to labor on either side of a business except for fair compensation of some kind.

Workers need money to live.  A successful business leader has had far more chances to acquire and maintain wealth, and if they wanted to, they have a better chance at being able to slip into freedom from work.  Employees often need to build wealth more carefully because of low pay and other factors setting up avoidable obstacles to their financial wellbeing.  Certain employers who are in error act like it is an abomination for a worker to come to a job mostly or exclusively for monetary reasons, while they themselves simultaneously live for sheer greed.