pay
Explanation
This comic satirizes employers who frame low wages as a philosophical virtue rather than admitting they simply do not want to pay their workers fairly.
In the first panel, a boss tells an employee: "I don't get paid this week either." The employee responds, "That's right." This establishes the premise that neither is being compensated.
The boss then reframes the lack of pay as a positive: "Instead of providing pay, I'm going to encourage a 'growth mindset.'" Rather than paying workers, the boss offers motivational buzzwords. He tells the employee to "discover for yourself the beauty of mediocre old condiment cups, because that's all you can afford."
The employee objects: "You're not my parent!" In the final panel, someone points out: "If by that you mean I'm not paying for your basic needs, correct." The boss has essentially admitted the truth -- he is not paying for the employee's basic needs -- but frames it as if the employee is being unreasonable for expecting compensation.
The comic lampoons the corporate trend of substituting material compensation with hollow motivational language ("growth mindset," "passion," "learning opportunities"), a practice particularly associated with underpaying industries and startups. The "growth mindset" reference specifically mocks the appropriation of Carol Dweck's educational psychology concept as a tool to justify poor working conditions.