5 ms·

Accepting a match is bad, it rewards underpaying. Also, the employer might have just offered you the match to buy themselves time to look for someone cheaper.

wyclif 4y ago
I tend to agree that too much accepting matches incentivizes companies to get lazy about making sure they are paying market value. However, I don't think most employees are thinking about changing the culture—they're just being mercenary and trying to get the best job they can.
sparkbII 4y ago
Not to mention they have proven you will need to beg for any future pay increases. Shit companies like that are not worth the time of the dignified.
Aeolun 4y ago
My employer counteroffered 15% higher or so. I was kinda unhappy there, but they also promised that I would be in a position to change things, and that has so far (2 years later) been true. I don’t know, I don’t necessarily think my employer is perfect, but they’re certainly good to me.
- praptak 4y ago
  Well if the counteroffer is significantly higher than a match then we can talk (the point about buying time is still a concern tho).
giveupitscrazy 4y ago
I got an offer from a small company, more or less a startup. Used it to convince my large stable company to match and they did. Can't underestimate job security in the evaluation of salary.
- irrational 4y ago
  Not only job security. I live just a few miles from the campus of the company I work for. I could walk to work if I really needed to. The benefits are fantastic. It is a fortune 100 company that will be around for the long term. It has amazing work life balance. I like all of my coworkers and have never had a bad, or even mediocre boss. Etc.
  - gautamcgoel 4y ago
    Which company is this, if you don't mind me asking?
mungoid 4y ago
This also gives the current employer the benefit of doing nothing preemptively. It puts the onus on the employee to go through all this extra effort just to get the match. I'm sure plenty of employees take it too but shouldn't.
- cloverich 4y ago
  While true, changing jobs has a cost for the employee too. Its a cost benefit analysis. I often find being in a new job provides opportunity to quickly level up by using learnings from prior jobs. But sometimes the new job is just different enough that you're investing more time in learning the ropes and making connections than getting ahead, and it can be a while before you can start to have an impact. If you're already capable and empowered at the current place (or better yet, promoted by the counter offer), it can be mutually beneficial to stay beyond monetary reasons.
mywittyname 4y ago
> Also, the employer might have just offered you the match to buy themselves time to look for someone cheaper. This is "common knowledge" but I've never seen it in real life before. I've accepted counter offers, as has my wife and quite a few former colleagues. And none of these people were ever let go from that position. The logic doesn't even makes sense. In large companies, the hiring manager doesn't care about salaries beyond if it fits in the budget. And firing people is a huge pain in the ass. If the company wanted to replace a person with someone cheaper, letting them go would be the best strategy. That would give the company two weeks to get documentation of the job function in place and start interviewing. I can see this kind of vindictive behavior a very small company, where decisions are made on the whims of a mercurial owner. But you're equally as likely to get fired from a place like this for any number of mundane offenses which the owner finds insulting.
- PeterStuer 4y ago
  "Mercurial" owners (let's just say psychopathic, it's not really a secret anymore is it?) will respect you for ruthlessly calling their BS, and then will want to make it a life's mission to teach you to heal. So they will not fire you, just make your life hell in a very subtle but undeniable way. They'll fire you on the spot when finally you heal though.
  - abuehrle 4y ago
    Do you mean "heel"?
    - PeterStuer 4y ago
      Yep, thx.
- skciva 4y ago
  It just happened to me, slightly different situation than a "counter offer" but it was clear upon being let go that I was retained with a short term mindset, despite what I was pitched before deciding on whether or not to sign.

wyclif 4y ago

I tend to agree that too much accepting matches incentivizes companies to get lazy about making sure they are paying market value. However, I don't think most employees are thinking about changing the culture—they're just being mercenary and trying to get the best job they can.

sparkbII 4y ago

Not to mention they have proven you will need to beg for any future pay increases. Shit companies like that are not worth the time of the dignified.

Aeolun 4y ago

My employer counteroffered 15% higher or so. I was kinda unhappy there, but they also promised that I would be in a position to change things, and that has so far (2 years later) been true. I don’t know, I don’t necessarily think my employer is perfect, but they’re certainly good to me.

praptak 4y ago
Well if the counteroffer is significantly higher than a match then we can talk (the point about buying time is still a concern tho).

giveupitscrazy 4y ago

I got an offer from a small company, more or less a startup. Used it to convince my large stable company to match and they did. Can't underestimate job security in the evaluation of salary.

irrational 4y ago
Not only job security. I live just a few miles from the campus of the company I work for. I could walk to work if I really needed to. The benefits are fantastic. It is a fortune 100 company that will be around for the long term. It has amazing work life balance. I like all of my coworkers and have never had a bad, or even mediocre boss. Etc.
- gautamcgoel 4y ago
  Which company is this, if you don't mind me asking?

mungoid 4y ago

This also gives the current employer the benefit of doing nothing preemptively. It puts the onus on the employee to go through all this extra effort just to get the match. I'm sure plenty of employees take it too but shouldn't.

cloverich 4y ago
While true, changing jobs has a cost for the employee too. Its a cost benefit analysis. I often find being in a new job provides opportunity to quickly level up by using learnings from prior jobs. But sometimes the new job is just different enough that you're investing more time in learning the ropes and making connections than getting ahead, and it can be a while before you can start to have an impact. If you're already capable and empowered at the current place (or better yet, promoted by the counter offer), it can be mutually beneficial to stay beyond monetary reasons.

mywittyname 4y ago

> Also, the employer might have just offered you the match to buy themselves time to look for someone cheaper. This is "common knowledge" but I've never seen it in real life before. I've accepted counter offers, as has my wife and quite a few former colleagues. And none of these people were ever let go from that position. The logic doesn't even makes sense. In large companies, the hiring manager doesn't care about salaries beyond if it fits in the budget. And firing people is a huge pain in the ass. If the company wanted to replace a person with someone cheaper, letting them go would be the best strategy. That would give the company two weeks to get documentation of the job function in place and start interviewing. I can see this kind of vindictive behavior a very small company, where decisions are made on the whims of a mercurial owner. But you're equally as likely to get fired from a place like this for any number of mundane offenses which the owner finds insulting.

PeterStuer 4y ago
"Mercurial" owners (let's just say psychopathic, it's not really a secret anymore is it?) will respect you for ruthlessly calling their BS, and then will want to make it a life's mission to teach you to heal. So they will not fire you, just make your life hell in a very subtle but undeniable way. They'll fire you on the spot when finally you heal though.
- abuehrle 4y ago
  Do you mean "heel"?
  - PeterStuer 4y ago
    Yep, thx.
skciva 4y ago
It just happened to me, slightly different situation than a "counter offer" but it was clear upon being let go that I was retained with a short term mindset, despite what I was pitched before deciding on whether or not to sign.