Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be introducing the individual elements of full-spectrum inclusion, which are all considered equally and combined in our inclusive design and practice consultancy services.
We're starting with Financial Inclusion, because we're approaching that time of the year when, in the UK, prices skyrocket a full four weeks before most peoples' "inflation-related-pay-increase" kicks in. (Make it make sense, UK...it's a fiscal version of kids gathering their stuff & getting to their feet the minute the bell rings, with teachers screaming "the bell is my signal, not yours!!!", completely pointlessly.)
(To American "wealth influencers" - your education in financial inclusion starts with this fact: In the UK, "presenting a record of all your achievements, and all the additional work you've undertaken, and then requesting a raise" will not work. 99% of companies here tell you at your initial interview that "your pay will increase in line with inflation every April; don't even think of asking for a pay rise otherwise, because the answer will be no." We're expected to apply for internal promotions (if they even exist) in order to maybe get a pay rise (but most likely get additional responsibilities, additional stress, and no extra money, because "we just don't have the budget"...)
Second lesson in financial inclusion: pay does not increase "in line with" inflation - or, rather, it does, but its "line" falls significantly short of inflation's. This, combined with the fact that literally every business and organisation pre-empts inflation-related costs going up in April by increasing their prices, fees, and "supporter donation Direct Debits" from as early as January, means people actually end up taking a real-terms pay cut.
Financial inclusion isn't about "everyone becoming a bargain basement!" - that's not inclusive for people who produce labour-intensive goods, or providing labour-intensive or genuinely high-value services; if everyone could afford everything, however little they earned, then a necessary outlet for the human drive towards competition and self-improvement would be lost, the State would be limited in what it was able to do for its citizens, as taxation revenues would be almost non-existent, which would mean that, while we could have "all the nice shinies", it would be at the expense of social cohesion and social support for the gaps which private enterprise either didn't care to meet, or was unable to afford to meet. There is a reason, after all, that the kibbutz is one part of Israel's economic and social activity, and not the whole of it.
Protecting and providing even just emergency response support for an entire population is expensive. Especially a population the size of the UK's, when the State's exports consistently return less than the cost of its imports (the UK's trade deficit currently stands at around £28billion, with only slightly over a quarter of the UK's private businesses actually employing anyone, meaning the majority of the UK's private sector probably isn't exporting anything.
Higher-quality goods, and higher-value services, should cost more, as should those which are more labour intensive. Financial inclusion isn't about how much people and businesses charge for their goods and services.
Financial inclusion is, fundamentally, not about making assumptions.
We're starting with Financial Inclusion, because we're approaching that time of the year when, in the UK, prices skyrocket a full four weeks before most peoples' "inflation-related-pay-increase" kicks in. (Make it make sense, UK...it's a fiscal version of kids gathering their stuff & getting to their feet the minute the bell rings, with teachers screaming "the bell is my signal, not yours!!!", completely pointlessly.)
(To American "wealth influencers" - your education in financial inclusion starts with this fact: In the UK, "presenting a record of all your achievements, and all the additional work you've undertaken, and then requesting a raise" will not work. 99% of companies here tell you at your initial interview that "your pay will increase in line with inflation every April; don't even think of asking for a pay rise otherwise, because the answer will be no." We're expected to apply for internal promotions (if they even exist) in order to maybe get a pay rise (but most likely get additional responsibilities, additional stress, and no extra money, because "we just don't have the budget"...)
Second lesson in financial inclusion: pay does not increase "in line with" inflation - or, rather, it does, but its "line" falls significantly short of inflation's. This, combined with the fact that literally every business and organisation pre-empts inflation-related costs going up in April by increasing their prices, fees, and "supporter donation Direct Debits" from as early as January, means people actually end up taking a real-terms pay cut.
Financial inclusion isn't about "everyone becoming a bargain basement!" - that's not inclusive for people who produce labour-intensive goods, or providing labour-intensive or genuinely high-value services; if everyone could afford everything, however little they earned, then a necessary outlet for the human drive towards competition and self-improvement would be lost, the State would be limited in what it was able to do for its citizens, as taxation revenues would be almost non-existent, which would mean that, while we could have "all the nice shinies", it would be at the expense of social cohesion and social support for the gaps which private enterprise either didn't care to meet, or was unable to afford to meet. There is a reason, after all, that the kibbutz is one part of Israel's economic and social activity, and not the whole of it.
Protecting and providing even just emergency response support for an entire population is expensive. Especially a population the size of the UK's, when the State's exports consistently return less than the cost of its imports (the UK's trade deficit currently stands at around £28billion, with only slightly over a quarter of the UK's private businesses actually employing anyone, meaning the majority of the UK's private sector probably isn't exporting anything.
Higher-quality goods, and higher-value services, should cost more, as should those which are more labour intensive. Financial inclusion isn't about how much people and businesses charge for their goods and services.
Financial inclusion is, fundamentally, not about making assumptions.
As an employer, don't assume that, because you know your team members' pay, you also know their financial demands:
- If your business requires a uniform - provide it free of charge.
- If you have a particular "aesthetic", which you feel is best met by a particular store's offerings - give annual store cards, to the amount that would cover two suits, two pairs of shoes, a half dozen shirts, and some small accessories. Ahead of an interview, provide a gift card with a suitable amount to buy a pair of shoes, a suit, and a shirt, so that, even on remote calls, people do not feel "out of place" in contrast to your embedded team.
- Make it clear what you mean if your dress-code is "smart casual", "business-casual", etc - it might seem "obvious" to you, but many people, especially from rural and working-class communities, may have never been introduced to the concept. This isn't a "lack" on their part, and online results are very varied.
- Do not expect people to contribute to "collections" for colleagues' life events, especially where their contribution will be known by others; ideally, the organisation should have a per-team budget for such things, and managers cover the expenses themselves. (This also avoids the "favouritism" impact, where a popular colleague gets more than someone who is less well-liked, which results in resentment, disengagement, and, often, a desire to move to another employer for the less-popular colleague.)
- Likewise, "team socials" should not require team members to pay for anything themselves. The organisation should either have a social budget, or simply not expect people to engage with their colleagues outside of their contracted hours.
- The same goes for "potlucks" - ideally, just don't do food-based ones; it's more inclusive to have a games potluck - there are many games which only need people, most people will already own the things for their favourite games, games typically offer a variety of active and mental engagement, and, by exchanging favourite games, rather than food, people get to learn more about who their colleagues are as people, which helps build team cohesion, and facilitates genuine social connection beyond work.
If you are a UK business, and would like to benefit from tailored financial inclusion planning which accommodates your team, your aims and ambitions, and your limitations, you can either book a 90minute Discovery Session with a Financial Inclusion remit, or you can request a simple Financial Inclusion Audit for just £15, or a Full-Spectrum Inclusion Audit for £75
To book the right support for you, simply drop us an email:
theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
As a friend, spouse, or parent, financial inclusion isn't just limited to sharing financial resources.
Not everyone has financial resources to share, to begin with, and the focus on "building generational wealth" as being about inheriting money is extremely exclusionary, and is doing considerable damage to social cohesion.
Generational wealth can be money and property, and, where this is possible, it should be - with conditions, to also teach discipline and the skill of following rules and conditions even when they "don't make sense" to the individual receiving them.
However, generational wealth can also look like:
- Providing teens and non-driving family members lifts to jobs
- Treating adult children who need to move "back home" as adults, and welcoming their family - spouses, children - as well, if you are able to do so, so they can recalibrate and rebuild from a financial shock.
- Offering wage-earning children the option of paying a genuine share of your actual costs from their wages or covering the costs of their food, essentials, and travel from those wages - and, if they choose to provide their own food, you do not just presume it "can be shared by the family, because the food I buy with my money has to be for everyone!" - work on that resentment, rather than passing it on. Where you have children or other family members living with you who are not earning a wage, allow them to "pay" by doing domestic labour - you're still getting a benefit, in terms of more time for yourself. If you expect someone on State welfare to pay to live with you, you need to have a formal, written tenancy agreement, with a realistic rent. (For guidance on what it is "reasonable" to ask, the Local Housing Allowance for London for a shared room (which is what you're providing) is £136per week - that means if you're charging more than £550pm in London, UK for your child/family member to live with you, you're overcharging. Outside London, this level will be significantly less than £550.)
- If you have a particular "aesthetic", which you feel is best met by a particular store's offerings - give annual store cards, to the amount that would cover two suits, two pairs of shoes, a half dozen shirts, and some small accessories. Ahead of an interview, provide a gift card with a suitable amount to buy a pair of shoes, a suit, and a shirt, so that, even on remote calls, people do not feel "out of place" in contrast to your embedded team.
- Make it clear what you mean if your dress-code is "smart casual", "business-casual", etc - it might seem "obvious" to you, but many people, especially from rural and working-class communities, may have never been introduced to the concept. This isn't a "lack" on their part, and online results are very varied.
- Do not expect people to contribute to "collections" for colleagues' life events, especially where their contribution will be known by others; ideally, the organisation should have a per-team budget for such things, and managers cover the expenses themselves. (This also avoids the "favouritism" impact, where a popular colleague gets more than someone who is less well-liked, which results in resentment, disengagement, and, often, a desire to move to another employer for the less-popular colleague.)
- Likewise, "team socials" should not require team members to pay for anything themselves. The organisation should either have a social budget, or simply not expect people to engage with their colleagues outside of their contracted hours.
- The same goes for "potlucks" - ideally, just don't do food-based ones; it's more inclusive to have a games potluck - there are many games which only need people, most people will already own the things for their favourite games, games typically offer a variety of active and mental engagement, and, by exchanging favourite games, rather than food, people get to learn more about who their colleagues are as people, which helps build team cohesion, and facilitates genuine social connection beyond work.
If you are a UK business, and would like to benefit from tailored financial inclusion planning which accommodates your team, your aims and ambitions, and your limitations, you can either book a 90minute Discovery Session with a Financial Inclusion remit, or you can request a simple Financial Inclusion Audit for just £15, or a Full-Spectrum Inclusion Audit for £75
To book the right support for you, simply drop us an email:
theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
As a friend, spouse, or parent, financial inclusion isn't just limited to sharing financial resources.
Not everyone has financial resources to share, to begin with, and the focus on "building generational wealth" as being about inheriting money is extremely exclusionary, and is doing considerable damage to social cohesion.
Generational wealth can be money and property, and, where this is possible, it should be - with conditions, to also teach discipline and the skill of following rules and conditions even when they "don't make sense" to the individual receiving them.
However, generational wealth can also look like:
- Providing teens and non-driving family members lifts to jobs
- Treating adult children who need to move "back home" as adults, and welcoming their family - spouses, children - as well, if you are able to do so, so they can recalibrate and rebuild from a financial shock.
- Offering wage-earning children the option of paying a genuine share of your actual costs from their wages or covering the costs of their food, essentials, and travel from those wages - and, if they choose to provide their own food, you do not just presume it "can be shared by the family, because the food I buy with my money has to be for everyone!" - work on that resentment, rather than passing it on. Where you have children or other family members living with you who are not earning a wage, allow them to "pay" by doing domestic labour - you're still getting a benefit, in terms of more time for yourself. If you expect someone on State welfare to pay to live with you, you need to have a formal, written tenancy agreement, with a realistic rent. (For guidance on what it is "reasonable" to ask, the Local Housing Allowance for London for a shared room (which is what you're providing) is £136per week - that means if you're charging more than £550pm in London, UK for your child/family member to live with you, you're overcharging. Outside London, this level will be significantly less than £550.)
Ideally, any money you take from a family member in "rent" should be put in the highest-interest savings account you are eligible for, and however much that balance stands at when they feel ready to move on handed over to them. If you need a contribution to genuine costs you can't afford on your own - say that. Don't frame it as "rent" - tell that person: "Hey, it's actually costing me £300 a month more to have you here, and I don't have a spare £300 a month; can you please cover the costs I incur through you being here?" Expect to provide them with evidence of these costs.
- Raising your children from a young age with "Here's my salary, and here's how much our bills cost"; provide this lesson visually for young children, using play money, because young children typically don't process "abstract" information very well, and printed bills are "abstract" to them. When they can see and touch the "money", the lesson starts to make sense, and stick.
- Help out your friends and family if you genuinely can when they need it - everyone makes mistakes, no one magically "becomes more responsible/organised" by being "made to endure the consequences" - the consequences just compound, and make it less likely that sometime will ever be able to "turn things around." If you can't help them financially, help them by calmly and patiently working out a manageable budget for them.
When you are establishing a budget - for yourself, or for someone else - personal hygiene, groceries, and social engagement are essentials. The State often considers these to be "non-essential expenditure", but they are not. Personal hygiene and appropriate nutrition save the State the healthcare costs of preventable illness. They provide people with the energy to care about their wider environment, which saves local council teams the expense of dealing with fly-tipping. They reduce the social care cost, as social care clients feel more able to identify healthful activities and support they can access themselves.
Social engagement saves the State the healthcare costs of mental health challenges caused by isolation and loneliness. The wider someone's social circle, the more likely they are, when they experience unemployment, to find a new job sooner, and the more likely they are, if they are employed, to be able to progress to a better paid opportunity; this increases the revenue available to the State's exchequer.
As a service provider, explore ways you can make at least a percentage of your services genuinely free at the point of use, to everyone.
The Productive Pessimist Ltd can help you with this exploration, for just £15 - email us at theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
- Raising your children from a young age with "Here's my salary, and here's how much our bills cost"; provide this lesson visually for young children, using play money, because young children typically don't process "abstract" information very well, and printed bills are "abstract" to them. When they can see and touch the "money", the lesson starts to make sense, and stick.
- Help out your friends and family if you genuinely can when they need it - everyone makes mistakes, no one magically "becomes more responsible/organised" by being "made to endure the consequences" - the consequences just compound, and make it less likely that sometime will ever be able to "turn things around." If you can't help them financially, help them by calmly and patiently working out a manageable budget for them.
When you are establishing a budget - for yourself, or for someone else - personal hygiene, groceries, and social engagement are essentials. The State often considers these to be "non-essential expenditure", but they are not. Personal hygiene and appropriate nutrition save the State the healthcare costs of preventable illness. They provide people with the energy to care about their wider environment, which saves local council teams the expense of dealing with fly-tipping. They reduce the social care cost, as social care clients feel more able to identify healthful activities and support they can access themselves.
Social engagement saves the State the healthcare costs of mental health challenges caused by isolation and loneliness. The wider someone's social circle, the more likely they are, when they experience unemployment, to find a new job sooner, and the more likely they are, if they are employed, to be able to progress to a better paid opportunity; this increases the revenue available to the State's exchequer.
As a service provider, explore ways you can make at least a percentage of your services genuinely free at the point of use, to everyone.
The Productive Pessimist Ltd can help you with this exploration, for just £15 - email us at theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
Base your service provision somewhere which is accessible by public transport, and provide your services within the public transport timetable. If the activities you offer require specific equipment, then you need to provide this, or at least present a list of what is required, with links to the cheapest retail sources for it, ahead of taking any subscriptions, membership fees, etc.
Again, this is something The Productive Pessimist can help you explore and establish.
Financial inclusion is about never putting people in a position of having to say "I can't afford..." to routine and expected things.
Financial inclusion is about an awareness of what the reality of most peoples' financial situation is, without having to ask them
(Heads up: Most people are not earning the UK's "average salary" of £37k a year. That average is the mean average, which is distorted by ultra-high earners. The modal average - the salary most people actually receive - is likely to be considerably lower, probably at, or only slightly above, the National Minimum Wage. The average person in the UK is servicing £17k of debt - excluding their mortgage payments. The average middle-aged adult is having to financially support both young adult children and ageing parents), and basing your prices and fees around that knowledge where you can, if you intend to have "broad multi-demographic appeal."
Financial inclusion isn't about who you can sell to, or how much you can, or should, charge.
If you want to explore Financial Inclusion that is tailored to your situation and your limitations, schedule a Financial Inclusion Audit with The Productive Pessimist for just £15.00
Email us: theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
Again, this is something The Productive Pessimist can help you explore and establish.
Financial inclusion is about never putting people in a position of having to say "I can't afford..." to routine and expected things.
Financial inclusion is about an awareness of what the reality of most peoples' financial situation is, without having to ask them
(Heads up: Most people are not earning the UK's "average salary" of £37k a year. That average is the mean average, which is distorted by ultra-high earners. The modal average - the salary most people actually receive - is likely to be considerably lower, probably at, or only slightly above, the National Minimum Wage. The average person in the UK is servicing £17k of debt - excluding their mortgage payments. The average middle-aged adult is having to financially support both young adult children and ageing parents), and basing your prices and fees around that knowledge where you can, if you intend to have "broad multi-demographic appeal."
Financial inclusion isn't about who you can sell to, or how much you can, or should, charge.
If you want to explore Financial Inclusion that is tailored to your situation and your limitations, schedule a Financial Inclusion Audit with The Productive Pessimist for just £15.00
Email us: theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
Comments
Post a Comment