Our Heart Beats for Those We Serve

On an average day, we go about our daily business, engrossed in our own lives and personal dramas, only casting glances to one another and interacting on an as-needed basis. We all live together on one planet, yet are entirely disconnected, and are divided into an infinite number of apparently discrete subsets.

Throw in a pandemic, and suddenly, all of the things that we think make us different are gone.

COVID-19 is a parasite looking for a host; it does not care if one is rich or poor; if one lives in New York City or Winslow, Arizona; if one’s skin has a different color than another’s; if one is a caregiver in a senior living facility or its CEO; Democrat or Republican; or if one is Jew, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or Zoroastrian.

Yet, it affects each of us differently.  So how do we respond, especially to those disproportionately affected?

• Listen to those who need an ear
• Promote awareness of their plight
• Commit to help the suffering
• Build community, so those who suffer know they are not alone

It is no coincidence that the same tenets apply to “Servant Leadership”, a term coined fifty years ago by Robert K. Greenleaf.

“Caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built…If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them.”

This is where PayActiv’s values are rooted.  PayActiv — a business, an organization, a diverse set of people — when combined, have a collective heart. And that heart beats for those that we serve, because they are the ones who define us, inspire us, and complete us.  We are human when alone and we are community when together. Our values when combined don’t diminish, they amplify.

We believe we are required to serve those most in need.  It is our categorical imperative.  There is simply no other choice and no other way to behave.

PayActiv — a business, an organization, a diverse set of people — when combined, have a collective heart. And that heart beats for those that we serve, because they are the ones who define us, inspire us, and complete us.

It is why PayActiv chose the most challenging and accountable paths to become a Certified B-Corp and a Public Benefit Corporation.

It is because of this reason that the raison d’etre of PayActiv– and that of every team member in our company – is the inclination to serve. It is why we stand together with every worker that we serve, have served and will serve. In fact, it is the only reason that we would be worthy to serve.

PayActiv is not merely an app looking for employers. We are more than that. We work for employees, so they find the peace of mind that leads to financial security, personal dignity, and a path towards savings. Our mission is to give them room for dreams.

Our success is because of our users and well-wishers. The employees and their employers. When they access freedom and realize their potential, we will count it as work well done.

In doing so, we believe it will create a virtuous cycle in which all stakeholders in all businesses will develop into servant-leaders, and pass on the same tools to others.

We know that we cannot eliminate human suffering.  However, as servant-leaders, we will be able to reduce — and perhaps one day eliminate – the disproportionate suffering brought on by pandemics.