Since Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, announced that he would slash his salary to guarantee his employees a raise to $70,000 per year, he has been flooded with an abundance of new clients and job applications.

His earnings will drop from nearly 1 million dollars annually to the $70,000 offered to his employees in order to accomplish his goal, and the privately held company will also lower its profit target.

“It’s fair to say we’ve had a huge outpouring of support,” said Price

As news has spread about the company’s new policy, it has garnered Gravity dozens of new clients, making it the best week for new business in the company’s 11-year history, which handles nearly 15,000 clients and $10 billion in payments per year.

Gravity’s announcement has caused reverberations within the business world, with some saying that it is a huge publicity stunt, others applauding the CEO’s courage and still others projecting worrisome outcomes should more companies adopt this strategy.

Mr. Price acknowledges that everyone is on a high right now since he broke the news and he is grateful for the publicity, but also says that new and existing clients will expect him to provide the best in service in order to keep their loyalty.

About 70 of the company’s 120 workers will have their pay raised to $70,000 over the next three years, with an estimate of 30 of those workers to have their pay doubled.

Price cut his own salary from nearly $1 million to $70,000 and lowered the privately-held firm’s profit target to create the changes in pay.

No matter the opinion of prognosticators, this bold move sets a precedent in how employers can make a distinct difference in the lives of their employees, and more so, impact our view of economics on a grand scale.

Imagine if  corporations worldwide  valued their workers and their stamp on society more than they valued their shareholders profits?

It would be a different social climate altogether—one that we could proudly call “mindful.”

 

 

Author: Monika Carless

Editor: Emily Bartran

Photo: Images Money/Flickr