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Will it? Most of the top performers I know are not very motivated by money, and instead value doing interesting work with people they like. Granted, there are

Will it? Most of the top performers I know are not very motivated by money, and instead value doing interesting work with people they like. Granted, there are a set of people who are very good at job-hopping while executing a performance of being a top performer. But maybe a company will do just fine those people hop away. Maybe it would do better.

musingsole 4y ago
Layoffs and paycuts don't bode well for any interesting work or keeping people in a mood where they are likeable. The handwringing and psuedo-calculus of cuts does further damage to any interesting work. Can't do interesting work when instead you have to fill in for a job previously covered by a junior engineer. It'd take a hell of a company culture to fight these trends.
- wpietri 4y ago
  Layoffs definitely hamper morale and disrupt operations. I'm not so sure about paycuts as long as they're done in a spirit of solidarity. I'd be fine with it as long as a) it was temporary, b) execs took the largest cuts, and c) I thought they had a real plan for getting us through the tough times. And obviously, not laying off people has a much smaller impact on staffing and the work one is doing, so I'd like that part better as well.
- hinkley 4y ago
  I do a lot of DevEx and performance and reliability work. It’s not as sexy as a mid-boom greenfield Shiny Shiny project, but most of us are reinventing software IBM wrote in 1988 anyway, so the shiny is mostly an illusion. You need the sort of work I do when you’re trying to get more done with less. Do I prefer using these skills to prevent over hiring in the first place? Of course I do. I’ll even take it for winding down a cash cow so we can start new product lines. The “goodness” of most people who conflate new with better is a matter of prospects. This kid is going to be amazing someday. In a downturn you need amazing now, not some day.
silvestrov 4y ago
I think it is an S-curve: if you are below the curve, or just on it, then pay amount matters a lot. But above the curve, everything else matters a lot, especially having a good boss / project leader and a project that makes sense / is actually used by people.
scarface74 4y ago
Out of the millions of things I find “interesting”, helping a huge corporation make money is very low on the list. The company pays me to exchange labor for money.
poszlem 4y ago
I am not motivated by money. That's why I am not looking for another, better paying job. But I will if you take from me what I already earn. Advice to reduce the wages of all individuals is disconnected from reality and likely originates from someone who is insulated from the practical implications of such a decision, such as those in an academic setting.

musingsole 4y ago

Layoffs and paycuts don't bode well for any interesting work or keeping people in a mood where they are likeable. The handwringing and psuedo-calculus of cuts does further damage to any interesting work. Can't do interesting work when instead you have to fill in for a job previously covered by a junior engineer. It'd take a hell of a company culture to fight these trends.

wpietri 4y ago
Layoffs definitely hamper morale and disrupt operations. I'm not so sure about paycuts as long as they're done in a spirit of solidarity. I'd be fine with it as long as a) it was temporary, b) execs took the largest cuts, and c) I thought they had a real plan for getting us through the tough times. And obviously, not laying off people has a much smaller impact on staffing and the work one is doing, so I'd like that part better as well.
hinkley 4y ago
I do a lot of DevEx and performance and reliability work. It’s not as sexy as a mid-boom greenfield Shiny Shiny project, but most of us are reinventing software IBM wrote in 1988 anyway, so the shiny is mostly an illusion. You need the sort of work I do when you’re trying to get more done with less. Do I prefer using these skills to prevent over hiring in the first place? Of course I do. I’ll even take it for winding down a cash cow so we can start new product lines. The “goodness” of most people who conflate new with better is a matter of prospects. This kid is going to be amazing someday. In a downturn you need amazing now, not some day.

silvestrov 4y ago

I think it is an S-curve: if you are below the curve, or just on it, then pay amount matters a lot. But above the curve, everything else matters a lot, especially having a good boss / project leader and a project that makes sense / is actually used by people.

scarface74 4y ago

Out of the millions of things I find “interesting”, helping a huge corporation make money is very low on the list. The company pays me to exchange labor for money.

poszlem 4y ago

I am not motivated by money. That's why I am not looking for another, better paying job. But I will if you take from me what I already earn. Advice to reduce the wages of all individuals is disconnected from reality and likely originates from someone who is insulated from the practical implications of such a decision, such as those in an academic setting.