Find Mediators Near You:

It’s Not About the Money; It’s About Justice

I’d stop flogging this dead horse if I didn’t have to weekly convince litigants of their own enduring human tendency to prefer relative well-being over absolute material possessions.

This week, that “news” is brought to you by the New York Times to explain why a surprising number of us have not been made terribly unhappy as our financial fortunes decline.  As Op-Ed contributor Sonja Lyubomirsky (of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want) observes today:

the economists David Hemenway and Sara Solnick demonstrated in a study at Harvard, many people would prefer to receive an annual salary of $50,000 when others are making $25,000 than to earn $100,000 a year when others are making $200,000.

Why? Because we “care more about social comparison, status and rank than about the absolute value of our bank accounts or reputations.”  In other words, we’re more concerned with justice (fairness) than we are about the money.  Which is why our clients have sought out our help with their personal, financial and commercial problems — because we’re in the justice business.  When we understand this, the negotiation of financial settlements becomes a whole lot easier because there are many more ways to deliver justice than by throwing money at it.

Read the full (short) article Why We’re Still Happy here.

                        author

Victoria Pynchon

Attorney-mediator Victoria Pynchon is a panelist with ADR Services, Inc. Ms. Pynchon was awarded her LL.M Degree in Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute in May of 2006, after 25 years of complex commercial litigation practice, with sub-specialties in intellectual property, securities fraud, antitrust, insurance coverage, consumer class actions and all… MORE >

Featured Mediators

ad
View all

Read these next

Category

Why You Shouldn’t Negotiate with Your Spouse

Texas Collaborative law BlogAs a Collaborative case progresses, one or both of the parties often want to "save time" or "save money" by negotiating directly with their spouse, outside of...

By Dick Price
Category

Servant Leadership Sets People Up For Success All Year Long

This is reprinted from the Ignite Newsletter.If you are a leader, the end of the year is an opportunity for you to celebrate and thank everyone in your organization who,...

By Ken Blanchard
Category

Stuck in Arbitration

Novo Justice Blog by Colin RuleAMALIA D. KESSLER, NYT, March 6, 2012 “YOU buy a cellphone, computer or car. You sign up for a credit card or open a retirement...

By Colin Rule
×