NASBA Center For Public Trust 
Ethics Matters
July/August 2015
A 2010 Princeton study revealed that $70K to $75K is the threshold for financial happiness. The study states that making less than $70K has an impact on your emotional health and making more adds little to your overall happiness.
Gravity Payments CEO, Dan Price, took this study to heart and cut his $1M dollar salary to $70K while raising every other employee’s salary to $70K, which doubled the salary of 30 workers.
"I wanted to give them enough money to not be distracted and focus on their work," Price stated in regard to his nontraditional act.
This business move was designed to enhance the quality of life for his employees, but it also had a major business impact. Gravity Payments acquired numerous new clients in lieu of their CEO’s actions and received 3,500 job applications in one week for two open positions, which is five times more than usual.
Price’s actions and results are a testament to why ethics matter!