The business case for trust, pride, and humanity at work

Insights|October 8, 2025

Money, design, and ethics are rarely discussed in the same breath. Yet when you listen to people who think deeply about each of them, a picture emerges of what makes organizations not only successful but sustainable. It starts with how people feel about fairness, continues with how they see beauty in the work itself, and depends on whether leaders can practice compassion without losing sight of justice.

Erika Andersson has spent years advising boards and management teams on executive pay and equity structures. For her, compensation is never just a figure on a paycheck. “Money is a relative game,” she says. Employees look around and compare. If the story feels unfair, engagement can collapse, no matter how competitive the number is in absolute terms. Research shows that people who believe they are underpaid are far less committed, but Erika stresses that perception matters as much as reality. According to her, it is “13 times more important how you communicate about pay rather than the actual pay level.” Transparency is no longer optional. With salaries openly discussed on platforms and regulations making secrecy impossible, companies must decide whether to resist or to lead. Those who explain their pay philosophy and connect it to strategy gain trust where others lose it.

But trust in numbers alone cannot carry a company. Harri Koskinen, known internationally for his product designs, brings in another angle. Beauty, he explains, is not an extra detail at the end but something that emerges from the process of making. “The process is beautiful,” he says, describing years of collaboration where form and function push each other forward. His work on audio products, for instance, begins with a willingness to challenge standard forms and materials. The outcome is a product that not only performs well but carries its own identity, one that people want to live with. For Harri, the significance lies less in the object than in the way of working – respecting materials, listening to partners, and staying with problems long enough to create something that endures. In business terms, beauty is the signal that care has been taken, that shortcuts have been resisted, and that pride in the work extends beyond the factory floor or the project deadline.

Still, even fairness and beauty do not guarantee resilience. Anna Savonen, a scholar and consultant in business ethics, argues that compassion must also have a place in leadership. She warns against reducing it to a soft slogan. “Compassion is not only about feeling, it’s about action,” she says. True compassion, in her view, involves three steps: noticing another person’s difficulty, empathizing with it, and then doing something to ease it. When done well, research shows it brings not only commitment and well-being but even innovation. Yet compassion alone can be dangerous if it is not balanced with justice. Leaders often face dilemmas where showing care to one employee risks undermining fairness for the rest. Anna insists that the task is to hold both realities at once: compassion asks what someone needs right now, while justice asks what can be defended as fair for everyone. Structures such as regular one-to-one conversations and transparent policies make it possible to practice compassion without sliding into favoritism, and justice without drifting into bureaucracy.

Together these perspectives reveal something powerful. Companies cannot rely only on pay to secure loyalty, on aesthetics to inspire pride, or on compassion to keep people engaged. They need all of them in conversation. Erika points out that “the true impact doesn’t come from your wallet. It comes from your brain and your heart.” Harri shows that beauty is not decoration but a way of working that dignifies the result. Anna reminds leaders that compassion must always be joined to fairness if it is to last.

What ties their ideas together is the reminder that organizations are human systems before they are financial ones. They thrive when people believe the system is fair, when the work is worth doing well, and when leadership manages to care without losing its balance.

This reflection builds on themes shared at House of Many Voices, where these conversations took place. More insights and perspectives from the event can be read below.

House of Many Voices 2025 – Another gathering of ideas, voices, and humanity

House of Many Voices: A tradition transformed into an icon

Why corporates should create space for dialogue: Roschier’s stage at Almedalen

How Sweden is adapting to economic shifts, cultural tensions and a renewed interest in spirituality

Building the future together through dialogue at the House of Many Voices

House of Many Voices 2024 – A magical night of inspiring talks and encounters