Dear Dave,
I’ve been self-employed all my life, and I work my tail off every day. The other day I heard some guys complaining about their jobs and saying that their company “owed” them all kinds of perks. Being a small-business owner, what is your stance on this?
John

Dear John,
Here’s the deal. An employer owes employees fair wages and the respect that goes to someone who will devote themselves to the job and do it well. But if you don’t like something to the point that all you’re going to do is cry and complain about it, then take a hike a find a job you like. That’s what I’d do.

At my company, I take my leadership role seriously in terms of being fair to the team and taking care of them. I mean, I couldn’t do all this stuff by myself. But I’ve also seen some companies out there that have earned this attitude they get from employees, because they’ve mistreated their workers. They lie to them, cheat them, and worse.

It’s all really simple, John. If you love what you’re doing and you’re treated with fairness, dignity and respect, it’s a winning situation for the employer and the employee. That’s what I try to do here. If you hate your job, or your company doesn’t treat you fairly, go find another job. The company “owes” you nothing in terms of perks.
—Dave