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It's not about "how good we have it", it's about logical compensation policies. I literally just left my job today, because they refused to give me a raise due

It's not about "how good we have it", it's about logical compensation policies. I literally just left my job today, because they refused to give me a raise due to my location (and pay level). I got a much better offer in a slightly more expensive location (I can move). It makes no sense to tie pay to location when you aren't competing solely in that location. Your employees can move to places with better pay and benefits too (or companies that don't strictly tie compensation to location).

Cthulhu_ 6y ago
It's about cost of living too. I was offered a job literally across the street from where I live, but their wages were probably based on cost of living from a few years ago; I bluntly said I cannot afford to live there from what they were offering, and the one minute commute does not pay for said mortgage. At the moment I make a decent amount of money for where I live, but at the same time, cost of living has gone up while my wage has stagnated. I'm very tempted to bite the bullet and look for a job in e.g. the Amsterdam region again, hopefully I can negotiate WFH conditions and the pay will be significant enough to warrant spending the extra time in the commute (once the 'rona is over, of course).
- subpixel 6y ago
  Just to be clear - because it took me a minute to grasp this myself - cost of living is your concern, but not an employer’s. The question they are asking is not “can Johnny pay the mortgage” but “Johnny wants X - can we fill this role for 2/3 X? Can we offshore this role for the savings?”
  - danaris 6y ago
    But cost of living should be a concern of the employer. Ignoring it, saying "but we should just get the absolute cheapest we can", is essentially claiming that the employer does not exist within, and rely on, a society. It's socializing their costs in order to make more profit. The idea that employers should, as a principle, seek to pay the least possible for the best work, is predicated on the idea of a free market, which is a theoretical construct. It requires a lot of things, like perfect information on all sides, and externalities being properly priced in, that don't actually exist in the real world.
biztos 6y ago
I'm the first to admit I have it good, but I'm pretty sure that even at the FAANGs, where all the children are above average, salaries are not squeezing the bottom line. It's not entitlement to want a fair share of the value you create.
a_imho 6y ago
Given that profits are unpaid wages it absolutely does make sense to erect a logical framework that justifies suppressing wages. It would be a mistake to think fairness or moral comes into play as long as it is legally acceptable to discriminate certain people. https://elsajohansson.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/what-does-a-wage-gap-look-like/ https://elsajohansson.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/what-does-a-w...
brunes 6y ago
You seem to underestimate the burden of moving. People have spouses, children, families, responsibilities. Not everyone can just pick up and move. Also, not everyone wants to move - some are very happy in a given location for various tangible reasons. It is so trivial now for companies to source talent from anywhere on the globe that the days of employees negotiating salary based on location are pretty much over. You are competing at a global level now.

Cthulhu_ 6y ago

It's about cost of living too. I was offered a job literally across the street from where I live, but their wages were probably based on cost of living from a few years ago; I bluntly said I cannot afford to live there from what they were offering, and the one minute commute does not pay for said mortgage. At the moment I make a decent amount of money for where I live, but at the same time, cost of living has gone up while my wage has stagnated. I'm very tempted to bite the bullet and look for a job in e.g. the Amsterdam region again, hopefully I can negotiate WFH conditions and the pay will be significant enough to warrant spending the extra time in the commute (once the 'rona is over, of course).

subpixel 6y ago
Just to be clear - because it took me a minute to grasp this myself - cost of living is your concern, but not an employer’s. The question they are asking is not “can Johnny pay the mortgage” but “Johnny wants X - can we fill this role for 2/3 X? Can we offshore this role for the savings?”
- danaris 6y ago
  But cost of living should be a concern of the employer. Ignoring it, saying "but we should just get the absolute cheapest we can", is essentially claiming that the employer does not exist within, and rely on, a society. It's socializing their costs in order to make more profit. The idea that employers should, as a principle, seek to pay the least possible for the best work, is predicated on the idea of a free market, which is a theoretical construct. It requires a lot of things, like perfect information on all sides, and externalities being properly priced in, that don't actually exist in the real world.

biztos 6y ago

I'm the first to admit I have it good, but I'm pretty sure that even at the FAANGs, where all the children are above average, salaries are not squeezing the bottom line. It's not entitlement to want a fair share of the value you create.

a_imho 6y ago

Given that profits are unpaid wages it absolutely does make sense to erect a logical framework that justifies suppressing wages. It would be a mistake to think fairness or moral comes into play as long as it is legally acceptable to discriminate certain people. https://elsajohansson.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/what-does-a-wage-gap-look-like/ https://elsajohansson.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/what-does-a-w...

brunes 6y ago

You seem to underestimate the burden of moving. People have spouses, children, families, responsibilities. Not everyone can just pick up and move. Also, not everyone wants to move - some are very happy in a given location for various tangible reasons. It is so trivial now for companies to source talent from anywhere on the globe that the days of employees negotiating salary based on location are pretty much over. You are competing at a global level now.