Ah, I think I see the problem now. Company "A" pays less but actually offers a higher total happiness level, lets call it "quality". Company "B" pays more but

Ah, I think I see the problem now. Company "A" pays less but actually offers a higher total happiness level, lets call it "quality". Company "B" pays more but is has a lower "quality", all things considered. Applicants are going to tend to apply to Company B because salary is a simple metric that doesn't have to be explained. Company "A" needs to educate their applicants/"consumers" in order for the applicant to see their value proposition - and that is something that is hard to do in a job ad. This sort of thing is very common in the retail market. For example, (in the U.S.) if you are under 30 you probably have never even seen a quality shovel. Good luck finding a shovel today that you can use without wearing gloves.