Consumer Culture
Have We Passed the Tipping Point or Is Salvation Possible?
If you are currently content with the state of the world of business and commerce, or if you enjoy the (dying) paradigm of the bro-club, “its business not personal”, and extractive resource capitalism, then this article is not for you. But if you feel that the system is broken and you can sense the subtleties of the positive shift happening and want to be part of the solution, then please continue reading.
We have been experiencing a growing shift in how businesses function for some time now. The old systems are not supporting the new paradigm of growth and expectations from both customers and staff. Younger generations are no longer accepting traditional corporate working conditions and are fleeing the workforce for better opportunities provided through social media, AI, and other technologies. Many who are still entering the traditional workforce often lean toward cynicism and/or are resistant to the expectations and working conditions of the old capitalistic paradigm, understandably so. This presents as lazy and unmotivated, which in most cases is far from reality. They are just not aligned with this old blueprint any longer. Yet we still have the need for well trained people power that brings an emotional intelligence to important interactions.
Customers are experiencing AI fatigue when companies rely too heavily on AI models for customer service, which ultimately affects customer satisfaction, encouraging frustration and discouraging repeat business. Additionally workplaces need to learn how to create an environment that honors a true work-life balance - not only as a platitude, but one that supports physical and mental health needs, that allow for family as a priority and not an afterthought. Companies need to create a culture that inspires staff loyalty through authentic connection and trust, and with clear roles, expectations, and contingencies defined that eliminate power struggles when a need or urgency arises. This requires, above all, authenticity and transparency from the employer combined with clear processes, expectations, PTO, mental health support, self care support - creating an environment that people want to be involved in. This requires a foundational shift in how basic Human Resources are built that have a cascade effect into all of operations. It also requires an intergenerational understanding - meaning that there is a vast divide in the cognitive development that took place before and after the onset of the internet. Those of us whose most crucial developmental years took place before “online” was even a known entity need to develop an understanding of how younger generations receive and process information due to the developmental influences of a vastly different world where information rests at the fingertips of anyone with online access. Shifting from the the myopic and fallacious “self made” mentality of older generations to an earnest desire to see a different perspective can help bridge a very large gap and begin to create an environment where they feel seen and is less likely to create resistance.
It also, and not in any small way, requires a shift in expectations from customers. We have grown collectively to be very impatient and expectant of instant gratification and small businesses do not need more pressure from the “I want it now” culture. We have been ‘Prime-d’ by the brilliant infrastructure of e-commerce that has slowly turned up the cooking water of the proverbial frog in the pot - or in psychology terms a JND - just noticeable difference, that has slowly evolved us into having wild expectations of which few understand the larger consequences. And though it is much larger than what can be considered here, I’ve listed some of the bigger issues embedded in unchecked consumerism.
Socio - Cultural: The real cost of the actual chain of operations that it takes to get that item immediately to your doorstep includes a hands-on working culture built on the vestiges of child labor, colonialism, and slavery through extraction economics, and are rarely considered in the larger picture. The information is out there and can easily be found, but it is largely kept out of sight with intention through a failing education system, distractions, and misdirection.
Dopamine disruption: This is a physical reaction that affects the physical, mental, and emotional bodies. The constant hit of dopamine (one of our brain’s feel good chemicals) from instant gratification eventually causes downregulation of dopamine, reducing receptor sensitivity and requiring increasingly quicker and greater payoffs to receive the same release of dopamine. This ultimately leads to chronic overstimulation and a weakened prefrontal cortex which affects long term planning and patience. Does this sound familiar - this is a typical addiction response regardless of the substance. Anxiety, depression, attention disorders, frustration intolerance, and overall nervous system dysregulation are other side affects of dopamine disruption. Constant dysregulation of our nervous system and the mental states that follow, leave us craving for more distractions in the form of scrolling, shopping, substance abuse, overworking, and anything that distracts and disallows real connection with our personal authenticity and with others.
Environmental: The environmental costs are staggering; water over-usage and pollution, toxic e-waste, forever chemicals, to name a few. The fossil fuels that are required to manage massive cargo flow and same day and next day deliveries fuel geopolitical unrest and drive extraction economies that disproportionately burden developing nations, and low-income and indigenous communities. The amount of unnecessary single use plastics and cheap textiles for the fast-fashion industry destined for the landfill via a container ship to your front door carry too high a cost. All for items that have more sustainable alternatives and offer little longevity in their nonrenewable nature or serve no real purpose, other than a fleeting fad. We are drowning in our desire for more, while the earth is overflowing from our throw away culture.
We evolve into the quotidian hum of our existence. If we can order an item from China from our couch and have it delivered in two hours by drone, then we are training ourselves and our neurotransmitters to devolve to toddlerhood - and I know you have witnessed a tantrum or two in line at your favorite shop or cafe when an item was unavailable.
BUT, this is not that type of article - more or less… But, I would be remiss not to mention a few of these more prominent issues, because we have reached a critical mass of stuff, and a voracious appetite for more.
So how do we shift from this type of consumer culture while still producing profits?
Aside from the obvious act of embracing quantum physics and reordering our universe through changing the interference patterns that project our reality, as most are not ready for that. Instead our world requires a massive overhaul in business and a shift in social and cultural inculcation. It is not a quick fix achieved by delivering platitudes in the form of the latest trending phrase, this is a complete and complex socio-cultural shift and business inversion and investment. Small businesses especially will have to get even more creative as they typically lack the coffers of their corporate counterparts.
Business owners have to get very real with themselves and their goals and expectations. This must include their personal and family goals, mental and physical health, solid boundaries, and being okay with knowing you can’t please everyone - over working eventually leads to inefficiency, and small businesses cannot afford financial or energetic leaks, owners have to pace themselves for the long haul.
Cooperation among small businesses, developing new approaches to collaborations that can streamline efficiency, buying power, shared labor, and a host of potentials. What works will be different for all businesses, the solutions can be as unique as the individual owner, but what benefits the whole, within reason, will benefit the company in the long run through staff retention, cohesion, and contentedness. But it requires an immense amount of creativity at every turn, education, and faith, and learning to apply that faith with each step into the unknown. Trusting that if you follow an ethical path for the greater good and not only for an Instagram story, then your people - customers and staff, will find you and will support genuine commitment to this authentic way.
The onus of this shift does not rest solely on businesses, as I mentioned above it also requires a shift in social and cultural inculcation and education. It requires not only retraining our bodies and brains to reverse the dopamine disruption that has slowly inched its way into our lives, but education about why this is necessary. This can come in many forms, but begins with connection and community.
We need a new approach to all stages of education from early childhood through higher education that not only incorporates the logical nature of STEM (and let’s face it even scientists with all their logic and proofs so often do not agree in the face of hard evidence), but that also includes all arts, mental health and mindfulness education and support, and does not include highly competitive academics that glorifies the hustle culture, and cutthroat ideals of the current paradigm. I’m not talking participation trophies here, but teaching and practicing the nature of collaboration over competition drives the interconnectedness of academic paradigms that encourages innovation. Collaboration brings better results. We need to create wholistic education that prioritizes authenticity and genuine connection that ideally leaves no hole to fill with consumptive behavior as the distraction that it is.
But what can we do in the meantime while we build a whole new education paradigm?
First, it needs to be said that being human at this time, or in any time really, makes us somewhat complicit to the current state of things. This is not a denigration, but a reality of life, and being too much of an idealistic purist is more detrimental than helpful. At any given moment doing our best fluctuates based on a multitude of factors. But as I mentioned previously, we become the the sum of our daily existence and choices. Change does not have to be, and should not be, a 180° turn overnight. Chaos would ensue, but setting intentions, maybe through a mindfulness practice, and shifting thoughts, decisions, and actions daily, however small, by honoring our intentions and showing up for ourselves, slowly allows our vision to take shape degree by degree. A few considerations are listed below:
Get really clear about your values and what you stand for as a business owner. Being consistent with who you are and what your values are, and align the majority of your decisions to those values. When in the pre-stages of the financial plan part of your business plan, consider and account for the ethics you want to maintain, and the staff support you want to provide.
Fill a need within your community. When we show up for our community, our community shows up for us.
Apply creativity in problem solving to find better ways for your products to reach their destinations and invest a bit of time educating your customer base as to why investing in quality over throw-away culture is better for us as individuals, us as a collective, and for the Earth. Why it is necessary to pay more for quality, but why this saves in the long run. Not to confuse quality for luxury, as not all items of quality are luxury, nor its inverse - all items of luxury are not quality.
Consider profit sharing, if your business is in a place to do so. Businesses benefit when employees take ownership in their work. For too long, this type of “ownership” has been expected with very little reward. As a business owner, can you manage with a smaller salary to raise some salaries of your employees? This has a proven track record for success, even tripling sales in the years following implementation, due to lower employee turnover, and higher loyalty. See Gravity Payments’ successful implementation of this model.
Treat employees like real humans with lives outside of work. Good operations systems, well developed cross training, and contingency plans for staff and staffing emergencies will help dramatically but will not alleviate all issues. As small business owners know so well, that it will always come down to them when in a crunch, but having other plans in place can limit the number of personal disruptions that come with staff emergencies, illness, etc… The more compassionate that you can be with staff, the more loyal they will be. Now, I know that there is always an employee or two that push those boundaries, and again, clear boundaries and expectations will define what is acceptable, and then their staying or going is dependent on their actions and decisions, not on vagueness, drama, or ego.
Support other businesses that embrace this philosophy, even those you think are competition.
Be kind. Notice I did not say “be nice”. If you don’t know the difference, time for a little learning.
I do realize that these are complex subjects better served by a volume of books, theses, and dissertations… They exist, but we need to postulate new and better questions that foster interactions and collaborations from seemingly disparate fields that, together, begin to create a road map to a less chaotic future.
Do I have all the answers, not even close, nor do I have all the questions. But we have to start somewhere. By asking important questions and shifting thought patterns in this direction opens a dialogue to collectively problem solve what we are facing as producers and consumers, and as humans. That is why I’ve created The Loom, to not only discuss important topics, in depth, but begin to postulate ways we can collectively implement solutions to be part of the shift to a healthier self, community, and planet.
Please check out The Loom to become part of the conversation. Click here if you would like more information about 1:1 Entrepreneurial Support, or here for Operations Consulting.
Thank you for making it this far. You are on your way to better dopamine regulation.