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> when we were discussing the pay, I threw in a number that's common for the Bay area employees > I thanked him for his opportunity and advised him to contact

> when we were discussing the pay, I threw in a number that's common for the Bay area employees > I thanked him for his opportunity and advised him to contact some sweatshops instead of playing the "remote" game. > asking me to go down 1/3rd of my price because of where I lived in seemed ridiculous to me. I agree with the general principle that you shouldn't give massive discounts because you live in a lower cost of living area, but you're comparing it to a Bay Area salary as if that's the norm. It's a massive outlier. Going down 1/3rd of a Bay Area salary (I'm assuming a developer of some sort from context) still puts you in the top 1% or so of earners virtually anywhere in the world. Offering two thirds of a Bay Area salary certainly can't be described as a "sweatshop" salary.

mfontani 8y ago
They did offer 1/3 of, and not 2/3 of, from what I've understood from the OP comment.
- JimDabell 8y ago
  Going down 1/3 means going down by 1/3 not going down to 1/3. It's possible they misspoke though. 1/3 of a Bay Area salary is still not a sweatshop salary and will let you live like a king in many places in the world though!
  - dominis 8y ago
    Let's reverse this notion: if your company is a remote(-friendly) company the place your employees are living is their decision. Since your company allows them to work wherever they want, they don't necessarily have to live in the Bay Area. This becomes a personal preference and I don't see why a personal preference is your business, moreover why you need to reward it with extra money. Also it's worth considering that in this business your employees are hired to think. It is nice companies starting to realize that it's not needed to be present 100% in the time in an office to be able to deliver the thinking, but they also need to realize that my brain produces the same output no matter where I live.
    - ownagefool 8y ago
      It's also a bit weird. Where I live is very expensive and far away from family but I live here because it's a nice area in proximity for jobs. What's to stop me just moving somewhere cheaper after I get the remote job tired to location? Are they going to renegotiate with me? What if I just forward my mail and don't tell them. Further still, there are always expensive areas in poorer places and cheaper areas in expensive places. Are these companies going to start auditing our finances before they discuss renumeration?
      - detaro 8y ago
        > Are they going to renegotiate with me? As an example, GitLab explicitly requires you to inform them and makes no guarantee about if and at what pay level they offer you a new contract. > What if I just forward my mail and don't tell them. Sounds like an interesting problem for the courts once they find out.
        ownagefool 8y ago
        Both answers seem ridiculous and like something that would quickly be dismissed in the employees favour in EU countries. But at the end of the day, do we really think gitlab is going to dimiss or renegotiate with a performing employee rather than this being a loophole to get rid of someone they don't value?
      - matz1 8y ago
        > What's to stop me just moving somewhere cheaper after I get the remote job tired to location? Nothing, assuming I can find other people with the similar quality as you, but significantly cheaper because they live in lower cost of living area, why would I not replace you ?
        ownagefool 8y ago
        It's almost safe to assume they wouldn't hire me in the first place if they had the quality on tap significantly cheaper.
  - mfontani 8y ago
    Yes, "going down by 1/3" would mean what you say - but they wrote "going down TO 1/3 of": "asking me to go down to 1/3rd of my price because of where I lived". I read "going down to 1/3" differently than "going down by 1/3". "going down to" leaves you with 1/3; "going down by" leaves you with 2/3.
    - JimDabell 8y ago
      > they wrote "going down TO 1/3 of" They didn't; as the OP already mentioned, they went back and edited it.
neya 8y ago
Sorry for the lack of clarity, I have since edited my post. They asked me for 1/3rd of my price - Not going down by 1/3rd, but rather 1/3rd of my quoted salary. So, if it was 100k, he was asking me for 33k.

mfontani 8y ago

They did offer 1/3 of, and not 2/3 of, from what I've understood from the OP comment.

JimDabell 8y ago
Going down 1/3 means going down by 1/3 not going down to 1/3. It's possible they misspoke though. 1/3 of a Bay Area salary is still not a sweatshop salary and will let you live like a king in many places in the world though!
- dominis 8y ago
  Let's reverse this notion: if your company is a remote(-friendly) company the place your employees are living is their decision. Since your company allows them to work wherever they want, they don't necessarily have to live in the Bay Area. This becomes a personal preference and I don't see why a personal preference is your business, moreover why you need to reward it with extra money. Also it's worth considering that in this business your employees are hired to think. It is nice companies starting to realize that it's not needed to be present 100% in the time in an office to be able to deliver the thinking, but they also need to realize that my brain produces the same output no matter where I live.
  - ownagefool 8y ago
    It's also a bit weird. Where I live is very expensive and far away from family but I live here because it's a nice area in proximity for jobs. What's to stop me just moving somewhere cheaper after I get the remote job tired to location? Are they going to renegotiate with me? What if I just forward my mail and don't tell them. Further still, there are always expensive areas in poorer places and cheaper areas in expensive places. Are these companies going to start auditing our finances before they discuss renumeration?
    - detaro 8y ago
      > Are they going to renegotiate with me? As an example, GitLab explicitly requires you to inform them and makes no guarantee about if and at what pay level they offer you a new contract. > What if I just forward my mail and don't tell them. Sounds like an interesting problem for the courts once they find out.
      - ownagefool 8y ago
        Both answers seem ridiculous and like something that would quickly be dismissed in the employees favour in EU countries. But at the end of the day, do we really think gitlab is going to dimiss or renegotiate with a performing employee rather than this being a loophole to get rid of someone they don't value?
    - matz1 8y ago
      > What's to stop me just moving somewhere cheaper after I get the remote job tired to location? Nothing, assuming I can find other people with the similar quality as you, but significantly cheaper because they live in lower cost of living area, why would I not replace you ?
      - ownagefool 8y ago
        It's almost safe to assume they wouldn't hire me in the first place if they had the quality on tap significantly cheaper.
- mfontani 8y ago
  Yes, "going down by 1/3" would mean what you say - but they wrote "going down TO 1/3 of": "asking me to go down to 1/3rd of my price because of where I lived". I read "going down to 1/3" differently than "going down by 1/3". "going down to" leaves you with 1/3; "going down by" leaves you with 2/3.
  - JimDabell 8y ago
    > they wrote "going down TO 1/3 of" They didn't; as the OP already mentioned, they went back and edited it.

neya 8y ago

Sorry for the lack of clarity, I have since edited my post. They asked me for 1/3rd of my price - Not going down by 1/3rd, but rather 1/3rd of my quoted salary. So, if it was 100k, he was asking me for 33k.