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Here's my thought: most employees are quite risk averse, and businesses have been able to take advantage of that in order to negotiate better for wages (better=

Here's my thought: most employees are quite risk averse, and businesses have been able to take advantage of that in order to negotiate better for wages (better=lower wages). The pandemic essentially forced people into being more comfortable in taking higher risks. It turns out that marginal increases in risk taking translate into wage gains.

stank345 5y ago
I just changed jobs. For me it was my job pool increasing by 10x or 20x due to the normalization of remote work. It's also much easier to interview when you're WFH all the time.
duxup 5y ago
I'm inclined to agree that some folks who stayed home (by choice or not) found that ... it wasn't that bad and doing so to find something else probably seems easier than it was before. My wife is possibly taking a leave to care for her father ... she's thinking a lot about if she wants to go back. If she wasn't taking a leave that first step / time might not be there to decide to do something else.
- bachmeier 5y ago
  > I'm inclined to agree that some folks who stayed home (by choice or not) found that ... it wasn't that bad and doing so to find something else probably seems easier than it was before. There's this, but let's not forget that the S&P 500 is up about 40% relative to its pre-pandemic peak, so retirement accounts have been growing really fast. Staying home suddenly became an option for many. There were already concerns about boomer retirements. Add a pandemic most dangerous to older people, lack of concern for worker safety, and massive increases in retirement accounts, and you have a lot of people that can and do stay home.
  - ghaff 5y ago
    Also, generally, the pandemic probably led to a lot of people on something of a glidepath towards retirement to think about pushing things up some number of years.
  - vwcx 5y ago
    The stock market is an excellent point. Feels like there is lots of under-indexing (no pun intended) for the sentiment associated with 40% passive growth in one's retirement account since the start of the pandemic.
abofh 5y ago
You are correct, but much like banking and other industries, as information becomes more discoverable, negotiations tend to balance more towards... Equitable? I have three contracts that drive the bulk of my revenue right now. I have a few different titles, but for simplicity, let's say Sr DevOps. As a matter of course, my oldest clients have my loyalty, but my highest bidder has my attention - work needs to be done on a Saturday night? For my oldest client, I'll do it. Conflicting deadlines come in? I'll try and take the hit (work extra hours), but the priority? The highest payer with the least micro managerial leadership. You pay me for my experience, or you pay me to attend your meeting while someone else pays me for my experience to actually do something. It's ok, I'll wait, I charge by the hour either way, and if your meeting is useless enough, I can charge you both!
chrisjc 5y ago
I think you're correct, but I would add that inflation (not sure if you meant to imply that was part of the pandemic) has forced people to take higher risks as well. While in the past an employee may have tolerated below market wages in exchange for the stability (safety) provided by staying still, inflation and its effects have forced their hand. Food, gas, childcare, housing, transportation, etc... have all increased to the point that they've had to make bolder decisions. And that includes looking for better jobs (wages, benefits, work/life balance).

stank345 5y ago

I just changed jobs. For me it was my job pool increasing by 10x or 20x due to the normalization of remote work. It's also much easier to interview when you're WFH all the time.

duxup 5y ago

I'm inclined to agree that some folks who stayed home (by choice or not) found that ... it wasn't that bad and doing so to find something else probably seems easier than it was before. My wife is possibly taking a leave to care for her father ... she's thinking a lot about if she wants to go back. If she wasn't taking a leave that first step / time might not be there to decide to do something else.

bachmeier 5y ago
> I'm inclined to agree that some folks who stayed home (by choice or not) found that ... it wasn't that bad and doing so to find something else probably seems easier than it was before. There's this, but let's not forget that the S&P 500 is up about 40% relative to its pre-pandemic peak, so retirement accounts have been growing really fast. Staying home suddenly became an option for many. There were already concerns about boomer retirements. Add a pandemic most dangerous to older people, lack of concern for worker safety, and massive increases in retirement accounts, and you have a lot of people that can and do stay home.
- ghaff 5y ago
  Also, generally, the pandemic probably led to a lot of people on something of a glidepath towards retirement to think about pushing things up some number of years.
- vwcx 5y ago
  The stock market is an excellent point. Feels like there is lots of under-indexing (no pun intended) for the sentiment associated with 40% passive growth in one's retirement account since the start of the pandemic.

abofh 5y ago

You are correct, but much like banking and other industries, as information becomes more discoverable, negotiations tend to balance more towards... Equitable? I have three contracts that drive the bulk of my revenue right now. I have a few different titles, but for simplicity, let's say Sr DevOps. As a matter of course, my oldest clients have my loyalty, but my highest bidder has my attention - work needs to be done on a Saturday night? For my oldest client, I'll do it. Conflicting deadlines come in? I'll try and take the hit (work extra hours), but the priority? The highest payer with the least micro managerial leadership. You pay me for my experience, or you pay me to attend your meeting while someone else pays me for my experience to actually do something. It's ok, I'll wait, I charge by the hour either way, and if your meeting is useless enough, I can charge you both!

chrisjc 5y ago

I think you're correct, but I would add that inflation (not sure if you meant to imply that was part of the pandemic) has forced people to take higher risks as well. While in the past an employee may have tolerated below market wages in exchange for the stability (safety) provided by staying still, inflation and its effects have forced their hand. Food, gas, childcare, housing, transportation, etc... have all increased to the point that they've had to make bolder decisions. And that includes looking for better jobs (wages, benefits, work/life balance).