psychic income

Intermediate 👥 Human Resources

Definition

The non-monetary rewards of a job like satisfaction, prestige, or meaningful work. It's what employers offer when they can't offer competitive salaries, as if pride pays student loans.

Example Usage

The nonprofit offered strong psychic income and weak actual income—turns out 'making a difference' doesn't cover rent in this city.

Origin

Economic concept dating to the 19th century, increasingly used in HR to justify below-market compensation

Fun Fact

Research shows psychic income matters most to workers who already have their financial needs met—for everyone else, actual income matters significantly more.

Source: Compensation philosophy and total rewards terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

stay interview

A proactive conversation with current employees to understand what keeps them at the company, conducted before they're tempted to leave. Like an exit interview, but you still have time to actually fix things.

👥 Human Resources
Intermediate

deadwood

Employees who contribute nothing but somehow haven't been fired yet, occupying desks and drawing salaries like workplace furniture. HR knows who they are; everyone knows who they are.

👥 Human Resources
Intermediate

employer branding

The reputation and image a company cultivates as a place to work, usually involving glossy marketing that bears little resemblance to actual employee experience. It's catfishing for recruitment.

👥 Human Resources
Beginner

return to office mandate

A corporate policy proving that middle managers need to physically see you working to justify their existence. Often disguised as promoting 'collaboration' while actually just protecting expensive real estate investments.

👥 Human Resources
Beginner

tryout

The nerve-wracking performance audition where hopefuls prove their worth while secretly wondering if their backup plan is still viable. Originally from sports and theater, it's that special moment when judgment is rendered before you've even shown what you can really do. The corporate world borrowed this concept and rebranded it as 'probationary period' to make it sound less brutal.

👥 Human Resources
Beginner

package

In HR contexts, the complete compensation and benefits offering presented to an employee, including salary, bonuses, health insurance, retirement contributions, and various perks. It's how companies describe "what we're paying you" while making it sound more impressive by bundling in the dental plan and free coffee. Negotiating your package is essential because base salary tells only part of the story.

👥 Human Resources

Translate This Term

See “psychic income” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on XShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Intermediate

FTE

Full-Time Equivalent, a unit of measurement that reduces human beings to fractions. You might be 1.0 FTE, 0.5 FTE, or, i...