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Subject:RE: FW: a question about "atmospheric" benefits From:Abby Matsumoto <amatsumoto -at- signalsoftcorp -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 07 Nov 2000 11:28:14 -0700
_____
This is a list of our "atmospheric" fringes: can you all let me know
whether you think any of these (and which ones) make up for lower pay?
free lunch every other week
free coffee, tea, and cocoa
flexible work hours
occasional telecommuting acceptable (once a week is the standard)
casual dress
a standard 40-hour week
_____
I don't know what city or industry you work in, but where I am, free
beverages, flexible work hours, and casual dress were notable extras a
decade ago. Now they're considered standard fare. Regular telecommuting
has been a routine practice for the past several years. We have weekly
brown bag lunches with a lecture topic and free pizza. I have a standard
40 hour week because I make sure it stays a standard 40 hour week. Stock
options, profit-sharing bonuses, and 401k matching are also offered. My
salary is competitive with the other writers in this area; it isn't
discounted because of the perceived value of the "atmospheric" benefits.
Frankly, if your managers think the benefits you mentioned justify a
lower salary, they haven't been awake for the past 5-10 years.
Obviously, the employees *have* been awake, and move on to better
compensation. Give your boss the figures from the STC salary survey, for
starters. Your company can offer all the perks they want, but it's not
gonna help anyone pay their bills.
Has it occured to your boss that continuously recruiting, hiring, and
training new tech writers isn't saving much money?
Abby Matsumoto
Technical Writer
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