IMHO all depends on the employee's work ethics, the company's work environment, possibilities to learn, autonomy in your work, feeling you do something interest

IMHO all depends on the employee's work ethics, the company's work environment, possibilities to learn, autonomy in your work, feeling you do something interesting, etc, etc. I can offer my situation as an example: I work as a senior lead dev in Rails in a hourly basis (US East Coast). Interesting job with a lot of autonomy, possibilities to learn (there is a complex mix of technologies here). I know it is not easy to find someone with my skills set and I know they are more than happy with my performance. The job is hourly just because that was the initial deal, a 'contract to hire'. They've just offered me a fixed salary and benefits, but with a lower pay from what I am doing hourly (even if my hours are cap to 8h/day). You know, business side tries to push down. So I am seriously considering to start sending resumes and just leave if I can't continue hourly, just because of the pay cut. So I think all depends. Flexibility in the hours, if it's possible, is a good thing, but fixed salary has also some advantages (if the salary is attractive): health insurance, benefits, paid vacations,... and you may get a higher degree of identification with the company. So again, it all depends.