Our vision for location-independent salaries at Buffer
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Re: Our vision for location-independent salaries at Buffer
#2Who uses buffer?
Re: Our vision for location-independent salaries at Buffer
#3Who uses buffer?
Approximately 63,000 people. See https://buffer.com/revenue
Re: Our vision for location-independent salaries at Buffer
#4I completely don't get location-based pay. I provide you with some work, that's worth some amount of money. Why does my location change the value of my work? Do I suddenly become better if I move to SF?
I get that some people have arguments for it, I just entirely disagree that any of them are valid. Whether I'm in a city that costs a lot to live in is no more the responsibility of my employer than whether I like to drive Ferraris.
Re: Our vision for location-independent salaries at Buffer
#5I really hate location-based pay. Why should people from East Europe or Vietnam subsidize rich people in SF? If you can not afford your rent talk to city hall, get a van or change city! Do not export your problems to other parts of the world!
Re: Our vision for location-independent salaries at Buffer
#6I completely don't get location-based pay. I provide you with some work, that's worth some amount of money. Why does my location change the value of my work? Do I suddenly become better if I move to SF? I get that some people have arguments for it, I just entirely disagree that any of them are valid. Whether I'm in a city that costs a lot to live in is no more the responsibility of my employer than whether I like to…
Well if your employer is based in NYC and they expect you to come to the office then presumably they can’t pay you Indonesian median pay. How is that hard to understand?
If you’re talking about remote, maybe the argument stands up more, but I’d add that if a remote worker adds less value to the company (which I believe as a rule to be true, like for like), then you would pay them accordingly by that reasoning.
Re: Our vision for location-independent salaries at Buffer
#7I completely don't get location-based pay. I provide you with some work, that's worth some amount of money. Why does my location change the value of my work? Do I suddenly become better if I move to SF? I get that some people have arguments for it, I just entirely disagree that any of them are valid. Whether I'm in a city that costs a lot to live in is no more the responsibility of my employer than whether I like to…
Well if your employer is based in NYC and they expect you to come to the office then presumably they can’t pay you Indonesian median pay. How is that hard to understand? If you’re talking about remote, maybe the argument stands up more, but I’d add that if a remote worker adds less value to the company (which I believe as a rule to be true, like for like), then you would pay them accordingly by that reasoning.
> If you’re talking about remote
I am, as the post is too.
> then you would pay them accordingly by that reasoning.
Okay, but still none of these arguments means that one remote worker should be paid differently from another remote worker.
Re: Our vision for location-independent salaries at Buffer
#8I completely don't get location-based pay. I provide you with some work, that's worth some amount of money. Why does my location change the value of my work? Do I suddenly become better if I move to SF? I get that some people have arguments for it, I just entirely disagree that any of them are valid. Whether I'm in a city that costs a lot to live in is no more the responsibility of my employer than whether I like to…
> Do I suddenly become better if I move to SF?
You probably do - you're probably hanging out with other programmers more, maybe you can meet up with colleagues sometimes - or, even better, suppliers and clients.
And you have more options for other employers, so you can capture more of the spread as producer surplus rather than consumer surplus.
Re: Our vision for location-independent salaries at Buffer
#9I completely don't get location-based pay. I provide you with some work, that's worth some amount of money. Why does my location change the value of my work? Do I suddenly become better if I move to SF? I get that some people have arguments for it, I just entirely disagree that any of them are valid. Whether I'm in a city that costs a lot to live in is no more the responsibility of my employer than whether I like to…
You’re not paid for the value of your work. You’re paid the necessary amount to hire you and keep you on board. That amount changes depending on where you’re located.
Re: Our vision for location-independent salaries at Buffer
#10This seems like penny-pinching that has the possibility of creating friction among remote teams. The realistic business impact is marginal, and the downside seems higher than the upside.
I mean here are their salaries[1], how much do you think their fancy "cost-of-living bands" are actually saving? It's probably more of a bureaucratic headache to make sure the bands are always up to date. Speaking of savings, it's always a bit gauche when a CEO/founder pays themselves the biggest salary, especially in a startup, where they have the most equity and the most long-term upside, but that's neither here nor there.