Ritz-Carlton Was Right. Karl Marx Was Wrong.

One of the worst feelings in the world is realizing nobody needs you.

Your ideas aren’t all that interesting. Your judgment isn’t trusted. Your presence is interchangeable with almost anyone else’s.

It stings in the moment, but imagine that moment lasting 40 hours a week for 40 years. 

Welcome to the modern workplace.

Karl Marx popularized the word “Entfremdung,” which best translates to “alienation” in English. 

This happens when people become disconnected from the very thing they spend their days producing. 

It’s caused by the paralyzing feeling that you have no control over the process or no say in the outcome. 

When your labor belongs to somebody else, it can eventually start to feel like your life does too.

Whatever you think of Marx’s economics, he was onto something about human nature.

People need more from work than money. We all ultimately yearn to feel that something became better because of our contribution. And that maybe, potentially, hopefully, we helped someone in need. 

One of the best remedies to this ache comes from Ritz-Carlton. 

The luxury hotel chain gives every employee, from concierge to housekeeping, the authority to spend up to $2,000 to solve a guest’s problem or improve their experience on the spot, without needing manager approval. 

$2,000 per guest, not $2,000 per employee. 

That means if a guest is freaked out because they left their blood-pressure medication at home, you don’t have to interrupt your manager’s investment meeting to get permission to help. You jump into action immediately to rush order new meds. And you go pick it up yourself personally, if you have to. 

If a guest’s child leaves their beloved teddy in their room after check-out, you don’t throw it into a landmine. You call the parent and tell them you’ve already shipped it to the home address they had on file. And you put a note in the package with some sort of cute bear pun that will bring a smile to the kid’s face. 

And you tell your boss about it after the fact. 

There’s an old saying in business: Bring your boss solutions, not problems. 

This isn’t just to make you look good in their eyes. It’s to make you look good in your own eyes. It’s about taking control of the situation and knowing you can handle it appropriately.

We like Marx’s idea of ownership as an antidote to Entfremdung. It’s simple, cheap, and unlike his Communism idea, it actually works.