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>- when working for a Swedish company, when they extended my contract and said they are very happy to have me but they can't pay me the same rate as my Swedish

by Bayart 5y ago

>- when working for a Swedish company, when they extended my contract and said they are very happy to have me but they can't pay me the same rate as my Swedish colleagues (I am Polish). Were you living in Poland or Sweden ? I kinda get that they'd want to pay less if you were living in Poland, considering the cost of living, but in Sweden that'd be scummy as shit.

lmilcin 5y ago
I moved to Stockholm for the duration of the contract.
phicoh 5y ago
Why would the cost of living factor in? If I move to a place that has a very high cost of living, then I don't get paid more. Why would the reverse be true?
- lars512 5y ago
  Pay is loosely related to the value you provide, but also to the balance of supply and demand for a role and a place. You simply can't attract a person from a high cost-of-living place without paying them a higher salary. Companies explicitly factor this into their salary mix, e.g. check Buffer's formula https://buffer.com/salaries https://buffer.com/salaries It's not necessarily how I'd wish things, but it seems to be the reality of the job market.
- brabel 5y ago
  Do you work in Sillicon Valley? Do you think developers working there are just much better than anyone else and deserve earning 300K+ while the rest of us are on 100K if lucky?
- Viliam1234 5y ago
  How difficult would it be to do the following? - rent the cheapest place (smallest, worst, etc.) somewhere on the edge of an expensive area = this will be your official address; - buy or rent a nice large place in a cheap area = you will actually live here; - work from home. Bonus points if you share the cheap place in the expensive area with your friends (no problem, since no one is actually going to live there).
  - pmiller2 5y ago
    Both of those would have to be in the same state for it to work, due to the way taxes are withheld and paid. Otherwise, you're probably committing tax fraud.
lostlogin 5y ago
> I kinda get that they'd want to pay less if you were living in Poland, considering the cost of living Shouldn’t a company pay what a job is worth to them, not based upon what they think the employees costs are? This gets complicated fast as remote work, work from home etc all changes the equation. Does the end customer get to pay a different amount based on their location? From my experience the remote customer usually pays more, not less.
- benhurmarcel 5y ago
  > Shouldn’t a company pay what a job is worth to them No, they pay just enough for you to accept working there. If your alternatives are worse than your colleagues because you don't have high-paying local options, you'll be paid less.
  - Viliam1234 5y ago
    Imagine a country where most employers would agree that a black developer should be paid only 30% of what a white developer in the same position with the same skills would make. The black developers would have to accept such deal... because it would be the best option they would have. Now somehow when you replace "black" with "Polish", it suddenly becomes ethically okay.
    - benhurmarcel 5y ago
      It becomes legally ok, which is all that matters to the company.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- anoncake 5y ago
  If companies paid what jobs are worth, they wouldn't make a profit. The same applies to goods: If you are charged as much as a good is worth to you, why bother buying it?

by Bayart 5y ago

lmilcin 5y ago

I moved to Stockholm for the duration of the contract.

phicoh 5y ago

Why would the cost of living factor in? If I move to a place that has a very high cost of living, then I don't get paid more. Why would the reverse be true?

lars512 5y ago
Pay is loosely related to the value you provide, but also to the balance of supply and demand for a role and a place. You simply can't attract a person from a high cost-of-living place without paying them a higher salary. Companies explicitly factor this into their salary mix, e.g. check Buffer's formula https://buffer.com/salaries https://buffer.com/salaries It's not necessarily how I'd wish things, but it seems to be the reality of the job market.
brabel 5y ago
Do you work in Sillicon Valley? Do you think developers working there are just much better than anyone else and deserve earning 300K+ while the rest of us are on 100K if lucky?
Viliam1234 5y ago
How difficult would it be to do the following? - rent the cheapest place (smallest, worst, etc.) somewhere on the edge of an expensive area = this will be your official address; - buy or rent a nice large place in a cheap area = you will actually live here; - work from home. Bonus points if you share the cheap place in the expensive area with your friends (no problem, since no one is actually going to live there).
- pmiller2 5y ago
  Both of those would have to be in the same state for it to work, due to the way taxes are withheld and paid. Otherwise, you're probably committing tax fraud.

lostlogin 5y ago

> I kinda get that they'd want to pay less if you were living in Poland, considering the cost of living Shouldn’t a company pay what a job is worth to them, not based upon what they think the employees costs are? This gets complicated fast as remote work, work from home etc all changes the equation. Does the end customer get to pay a different amount based on their location? From my experience the remote customer usually pays more, not less.

benhurmarcel 5y ago
> Shouldn’t a company pay what a job is worth to them No, they pay just enough for you to accept working there. If your alternatives are worse than your colleagues because you don't have high-paying local options, you'll be paid less.
- Viliam1234 5y ago
  Imagine a country where most employers would agree that a black developer should be paid only 30% of what a white developer in the same position with the same skills would make. The black developers would have to accept such deal... because it would be the best option they would have. Now somehow when you replace "black" with "Polish", it suddenly becomes ethically okay.
  - benhurmarcel 5y ago
    It becomes legally ok, which is all that matters to the company.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
anoncake 5y ago
If companies paid what jobs are worth, they wouldn't make a profit. The same applies to goods: If you are charged as much as a good is worth to you, why bother buying it?