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Ask HN: Why is my F500 employer okay with paying 5x to freelancers?

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Re: Ask HN: Why is my F500 employer okay with paying 5x to freelancers?

#91

Post by _DeadFred_ »

When I was in management they hated temporary income bumps to employees because when the income bump went away the employees tended to look for a different job at the income level they became accustomed to/dependant on. It's not they don't want to give you more income, it's they know they will be hosed when/if they cut your income later.

Edit: This was also an issue with year end bonuses. We did well a few years and bonuses were given and it made things difficult when the good years ended. I doubt they gave bonuses after that, good or bad year.

Re: Ask HN: Why is my F500 employer okay with paying 5x to freelancers?

#92

Post by mvdtnz »

xnx wrote: post #75
akudha wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work as a contractor and am managing a small team. I easily do the work at least two people in my team, in addition to managing ("babysitting") the team. While my pay is not 5 times their pay, it is most certainly higher than theirs. But my most attractive trait is not that I work harder, it is that they can fire me at any point, without giving any reason or any notice. On top of it, they don't have to deal with an…

> it is that they can fire me at any point, without giving any reason or any notice. Isn't this true for an US non-union employee?

Who's talking about USA?

Re: Ask HN: Why is my F500 employer okay with paying 5x to freelancers?

#93

Post by airspresso »

mejutoco wrote: post #41
Aurornis wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the logic is right. If you have full-time employees you have to fire them when times get tough. In some countries it’s very hard to fire people and it requires months of notice. These laws encourage companies to choose contractors so they don’t get stuck with employees they can’t fire during tough times. If you have freelancers you can more flexibly pause, delay, or reduce hours and then resume them again when yo…

> In some countries it’s very hard to fire people and it requires months of notice This is, of course, true. I want to add that a company in Europe can still tell you not to come back tomorrow. They would just have to pay for those months of notice as if you were employed. In other words, it is expensive, but it is only a money issue.

> In other words, it is expensive, but it is only a money issue.

Bingo. That's all that matters.

Re: Ask HN: Why is my F500 employer okay with paying 5x to freelancers?

#94

Post by zwnow »

airspresso wrote: post #93
mejutoco wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In some countries it’s very hard to fire people and it requires months of notice This is, of course, true. I want to add that a company in Europe can still tell you not to come back tomorrow. They would just have to pay for those months of notice as if you were employed. In other words, it is expensive, but it is only a money issue.

> In other words, it is expensive, but it is only a money issue. Bingo. That's all that matters.

Where's the difference in employing a freelancer for 1 month for 20k vs paying an employee for 3 months for less?

It doesn't make any sense.

Re: Ask HN: Why is my F500 employer okay with paying 5x to freelancers?

#95

Post by andix »

baal80spam wrote: post #86
andix wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fully agree with that statement. But keep in mind that the grass is always greener on the other side. Freelancing has it's own challenges. Especially in economically uncertain times, freelancers are the first ones who lose their jobs, if the company needs to save money.

> But keep in mind that the grass is always greener on the other side. I think you meant "isn't"?

No, this is the commonly used phrase.

AI explanation:

The correct proverb is “the grass is always greener on the other side.”. It means we tend to idealize other people’s situations, seeing only their positives and overlooking their hidden challenges. It warns that every circumstance has its own drawbacks and reminds us to appreciate and cultivate what we already have.

Re: Ask HN: Why is my F500 employer okay with paying 5x to freelancers?

#96

Post by chrismatheson »

lots of the comments here focus on freelancing vs perm.

Organisations of all shapes and sizes make irrational choices like this all the time.

RTO - overwhelmingly unpopular with the workforce, with seemingly no tangible upside, being enforced all over the place "just because" (my pet theory is that those paying like to see the bums on seats, to look out over their empire, but just cant bring themselves to admit it).

startups looking for senior engineers and cant compete on price ... why not offer a pro-rata 4-day week? the "big boys" aren't doing that, and once you have a 4 day week its very hard to give up. "oh no we cant possible we have far too much to do". yes becuase 4 out of 5 days is worse than 0 out of 5....

im sure there are millions of such "irational" things which pretty much boils down to the fact that no one actually made a choice. Its all product of circumstance, how its always been done, what everyone else is doing, mixed with a bit of "well why should they get it if I didn't for all my previous 25 years of working"

update: typos

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