Why these things hurt us more?

It's that time of the year when we eagerly wait to recieved our bonus and increment letter.

A couple of years ago, my #team #member having recieved the best rating with a double digit increment was still unhappy because her colleague got an increment 0.3% higher than her.

Let's decode this from the lens of #BehaviouralEconomics.

1. We humans percieve #conspicuous and #inconspicuous consumptions differently.
2. Conspicuous consumption are such things that are visible to others and a consumer treat it as a symbol of their stature or success. i.e.  Salary Increment, the Car you drive, Credit Card you takeout to pay when your friends are around, mobile phone you carry, the Brand of clothes you wear etc
3. Inconspicuous consumption are such things that are consumed more privately. Hence Consumer believe in the absolute value, irrespective of someone having better than them. i.e. Grocery,, Parenting efforts etc.
4. Diminishing value of conspicuous consumption. In early 2000 when I started my career, owing a Credit Card was a big achievement, even though it was silver one. Over time I kept climbing the tiers to Gold, Titanium, Platinum, Signature & flet better. What consumers didn't realise was that Credit Card companies kept debasing their platforms. So today's Platinum platform is early 2000 entry level platform Silver/Gold. Credit Card companies like #Visa #MasterCard kept adding new levels to meet the consumers Conspicuous Consumption needs.

This topic reminds me of the famous Onida Ad

"Onida, neighbour's envy owners Pride"