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I have had this discussion so many times with employers. It makes little sense that the company should earn more from some employees than others for the same wo

I have had this discussion so many times with employers. It makes little sense that the company should earn more from some employees than others for the same work. I get it that often companies are specifically trying to encourage people to live near their office in expensive cities, but from a standpoint of value created for the company it seems irrelevant what an employees outgoings are. Presumably greater competition from more places around the world would eventually drive down developer wages in major cities. I do hear a lot of justification in terms of market costs for labour varying by region, but it frequently comes from people who benefit from stock market prices that are not priced depending differently on region. Maybe it's naive and unrealistic but I'd actually like to see it cause cities to get too expensive and actually create benefit for bringing economic activity to places with lower market wages. I know the UK most intimately, and I can only imagine how areas like the North East might look if money had flown out of London and allowed more people who can work remotely to live there at higher wages. Would it have caused rifts and gentrification? Would the additional money have made it into the local economy and created more local businesses and a better economy? There are a lot of open questions and I'm certainly in the camp that supports non-regionalised pay - to the extent I'd sooner work for someone else than accept a pay cut for doing exactly the same work.

lotsofpulp 6y ago
> to the extent I'd sooner work for someone else than accept a pay cut for doing exactly the same work. Obviously. An employer performing pay cuts is betting that the employee doesn’t have a better option, and/or they are betting the can replace them if they did leave at a cheaper price and still derive the same utility. Whether or not this pans out is never certain, but it’s no different than the risks of a business changing to a new supplier offering better prices or putting out contracts for a bid.
missedthecue 6y ago
"It makes little sense that the company should earn more from some employees than others for the same work." So when I need to hire an attorney or a plumber, should I shop around, or pay as much as possible, so that i'm not paying one less for the same amount of work.
- sammorrowdrums 6y ago
  Employers choose who to hire and fire, they do shop around. I didn't mean wages should all be flat. I meant that if I'm of equal value to employer, why should they pay me less or more dependent on variables external to my actual work.
  - lotsofpulp 6y ago
    > why should they pay me less or more dependent on variables external to my actual work. They won’t pay you more in the long term. In the short term, they may be trying out candidates willing to work for cheaper. If they notice cheaper employees are available and providing the same utility, then I would bet the more expensive employees are on the chopping block.

lotsofpulp 6y ago

> to the extent I'd sooner work for someone else than accept a pay cut for doing exactly the same work. Obviously. An employer performing pay cuts is betting that the employee doesn’t have a better option, and/or they are betting the can replace them if they did leave at a cheaper price and still derive the same utility. Whether or not this pans out is never certain, but it’s no different than the risks of a business changing to a new supplier offering better prices or putting out contracts for a bid.

missedthecue 6y ago

"It makes little sense that the company should earn more from some employees than others for the same work." So when I need to hire an attorney or a plumber, should I shop around, or pay as much as possible, so that i'm not paying one less for the same amount of work.

sammorrowdrums 6y ago
Employers choose who to hire and fire, they do shop around. I didn't mean wages should all be flat. I meant that if I'm of equal value to employer, why should they pay me less or more dependent on variables external to my actual work.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  > why should they pay me less or more dependent on variables external to my actual work. They won’t pay you more in the long term. In the short term, they may be trying out candidates willing to work for cheaper. If they notice cheaper employees are available and providing the same utility, then I would bet the more expensive employees are on the chopping block.