4 ms·

This and... I remember when in France, the work week went from 39 to 35, that was 35h work week paid 39 - no pay cuts. Now I get that the economy/job market i

This and... I remember when in France, the work week went from 39 to 35, that was 35h work week paid 39 - no pay cuts. Now I get that the economy/job market isn't like it was then, what with all the layoffs to protect shareholder from growth dropping from +9% to only +5% (arbitrary example from one company). But I am baffled at how quickly employees seem to have internalized the idea that reduced hours require reduced pay before even getting a chance for any negotiations. With all the value that's being produced, we're just accepting that it continue to be unfairly distributed, and that workers see no benefit (or barely) from the increases in productivity. I'm sorry, if a pay cut is required, or condensed hours are required, it's no social progress, just lip service at best to exploit people more under the guise of flexibility. I'd prefer having fridays officially off instead of being stuck at my pc not doing much work. If I'm already not working most fridays, why is it such a big deal to just make it official, get paid the same and not have to warm a seat poitnlessly?

sokoloff 2y ago
Because someone right behind you will happily take that deal for 32 hours of work for 38 hours of pay. And someone behind them will do it for 35. And someone behind them will… Until employers run out of qualified someones willing to work for less, they don’t have much long-term incentive to pay you 25% more than someone else is willing to take for the same job.
- BehindBlueEyes 2y ago
  Yeah, good point. I work in games, there's always an army of youngsters willing to put up with anything to break into the industry. I shouldn't be surprised... And I know only all too well employers will continue even at the point of hiring unqualified someones willing to work for less... But I'm wondering if there is more at play. Like is the web so full of HR BS that people don't know better? Is the economy really that bad or is it a self fulfilling prophecy because corporate scare tactics work? And don't get me started on LLMs confidently repeating the same one sided HR BS when you ask anything about work conditions, and then claiming it intends to provide a comprehensive list of unbiased potential solutions to try, conveniently leaving out the last one which should be if all else fails start sending resumes... Anyway, I'm seeing more unions spin up and more strikes this year, so I guess that gives me a bit of hope at least.

sokoloff 2y ago

Because someone right behind you will happily take that deal for 32 hours of work for 38 hours of pay. And someone behind them will do it for 35. And someone behind them will… Until employers run out of qualified someones willing to work for less, they don’t have much long-term incentive to pay you 25% more than someone else is willing to take for the same job.

BehindBlueEyes 2y ago
Yeah, good point. I work in games, there's always an army of youngsters willing to put up with anything to break into the industry. I shouldn't be surprised... And I know only all too well employers will continue even at the point of hiring unqualified someones willing to work for less... But I'm wondering if there is more at play. Like is the web so full of HR BS that people don't know better? Is the economy really that bad or is it a self fulfilling prophecy because corporate scare tactics work? And don't get me started on LLMs confidently repeating the same one sided HR BS when you ask anything about work conditions, and then claiming it intends to provide a comprehensive list of unbiased potential solutions to try, conveniently leaving out the last one which should be if all else fails start sending resumes... Anyway, I'm seeing more unions spin up and more strikes this year, so I guess that gives me a bit of hope at least.