Hourly employees happier than salaried workers? | Hacker News Reader

Hourly employees happier than salaried workers?

eurekalert.org

9 pointscwan12 comments

This is kind of a lame article although the topic itself is a bit interesting. I am actually paid hourly - as a full time developer (not a consultant). It was nice when we were being asked to work late as we at least were being paid for out time (although we didn't get paid overtime - the hourly rate was the same regardless of how many hours we worked).

It's a little less interesting when you're not working overtime and you have to make sure you get your 40 hours in. In my previous jobs (which were all salaried) things just seemed a little more relaxed - if you needed to take off early or were a little late getting in it was never a big deal (as long as you didn't make a habit of it). Now it feels more like I keep an eye on every minute.

It definitely makes me more aware of the whole time = money thing but I'm not so sure that means I'm happier... more neurotic about time perhaps.

If you are in the right situation, salaried work can be much more relaxing. And as my boss likes to point out, flexibility works both ways--if I am sometimes expected to put in extra hours for a project, my employer should be willing to cut me some slack when I need it, too.

Except that often doesn't happen. I'm being paid hourly right now and I do find it has some advantages: I hardly ever am asked to work more than 40 hours a week because I would have to be paid overtime; If I need to leave work early there's no guilty feeling of needing to "make up the time"; I'm never "on call" at night or on weekends for support--the salaried folks get that joy.

Agreed. Not every situation is like that, and I reckon this is the first time in my career I truly have this sort of flexibility. No one tracks my time at my desk--the only metric is the quality and timeliness of my work.

I should note, too, that I am never "on call" (well, that's not true--I was on call once).

Relaxation might not lead to happiness. Happiness can be a pretty subjective state of mind though I think what the underlying study is trying to get at is that having a more direct relationship between your time and the value you create can be more satisfying and therefore lead to happiness.

I think David Allen sort of explores this idea in GTD with the idea that people can be a lot happier with building widgets - a very direct relationship in terms of tasks, accomplishments, and satisfaction. More broadly this study (though I'd caution in reading excessively into it anyway as they open in the published paper by saying the effect isn't large) provides evidence for pay for performance.

"Hourly employees happier than salaried" is not equivalent to (nor implied by) "[p]eople paid by the hour exhibit a stronger relationship between income and happiness" so I'm left to wonder which it is.

In fact, when you consider that the vast majority of hourly workers are probably grossly underpaid, it could even mean that hourly employees are less happy than salaried employees.

It's the latter. I'd kindly request that cwan or a moderator change the headline to something less misleading.

Sorry, the ability to edit the headings disappears I think about 2 hours after submission. I posted this because it is an interesting relationship to explore (both the in the form EurekaAlerts has titled it and in the form of the study itself) though in re-reading it, I agree the title is inaccurate.

I can definitely say I'm happier when being paid for freelancing. When I see that cheque I know it's a result of the sweat and time I put in a project.

Salary on the other hand is just cash being transferred to my bank account. I never physically see it, no one hands it to me. It's just a number in my bank account that I don't check often.

I bet I'd be happier if my boss handed me a cheque every two weeks instead of doing bank transfer. It's an emotional "I have to see it to feel it" thing.

Can't you just cancel your direct deposit and have that giddy check-in-hand feeling when your paycheck comes in the mail?

Here's a link to the actual paper (free): http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/35/12/1602.pdf

Reply on news.ycombinator.com