A columnist for Inc. writes that Google “may reduce the salaries of employees who choose to work at home full-time, based on the cost of living where they live, according to an internal calculator viewed by Reuters.”
They also argue that Google’s move is “likely to be a disaster.”
It may seem sensible, given that a salary that barely covers a San Francisco studio apartment might get you a mansion in, say, Topeka. That’s the logic Google says it’s using. “Our compensation packages have always been determined by location,” a spokesperson told Reuters.
But cutting pay for existing employees who opt to work from home is a terrible idea and it shows a complete lack of emotional intelligence. If Google is smart, it will shelve this idea. So will Facebook, Twitter, the UK government, and any other company considering a similar move. Here’s why:
1. A salary is about more than just paying the bills… In real life, a pay cut will feel like an insult to most employees, even if it has nothing to do with their performance or their value to the company. You’re literally telling them that they’re worth less. Is that the message you want them to hear?
2. Google is being greedy… Like other tech giants, it’s thrived during the pandemic. Cutting people’s salaries when your share price has more than doubled, your revenues are up 62 percent, and your profits are up even more seems like the pinnacle of corporate greed. Not a good look.
3. It will make Google even more unequal than it already is…
Read more of this story at Slashdot.