Hourly Vs. Salary
Kyle Klem
Many of us are at the point in our lives when we are deciding what we wanna do with our lives and what jobs we want to get. With different jobs comes different circumstances, for example the way the business or firm pays you. You can either get paid hourly or have a salary there are pros and cons to both of these payment methods.
When you get paid off of a salary you have a steady flow of income and get paid with no fluctuations and also won’t affect compensation if the company is closed for a holiday or for any reason. Salary pay also has higher compensation than hourly. Salary jobs also tend to have more regular and set in place hours and schedules. You may also get extra perks that hourly jobs don’t offer like paid vacation or if you need to leave the job early for an appointment they are often more flexible. Another pro from receiving a salary is when times where the company is forced to close by the government you still receive your salary, as we are seeing in the present time with a pandemic many salary workers won’t need financial support and hourly employees most likely will.
Hourly workers get paid for the hour they worked with no exceptions. This also helps them if they are working overtime or on holidays as they receive more per hour if they work during these special circumstances. In recent years the wages of hourly workers has had a significant increase and keeps increasing as the years go on. A great benefit of working hourly you are most likely not to be blamed or held responsible if some should go wrong. Many hourly employees love their job because it doesn’t interfere with their time at home as they are compensated for the work they do at home like a salary worker. Although hourly sounds great there are some huge cons to think about, one of them being that they don’t receive nearly the quantity and quality benefits as a salary worker. Another huge con is that if the employer is going through a tough time they may cut back hours or just let you go based on the circumstance.
So in a time with a worldwide crisis like today, which is better hourly or salary? It is more of a preference but salary just has more pros than hourly during rough times like these, when the economy is down it affects lots of businesses but especially the ones who have mostly hourly employees which forces them to lay off or cut back hours of many workers to break even and not lose money. Where salary jobs won’t cut back hours but instead just push their employees extra hard to make ends meet. In times like these many families are living paycheck to paycheck and if they have a family member cut off from making money the whole family takes a big hit.
Works Cited
Elliott, Candice. “Hourly vs Salary: Advantages, Disadvantages and Opportunities.” Listen Money Matters, www.listenmoneymatters.com/hourly-vs-salary/.
Quinn, Amybeth. “Sourcing Salary Survey: Results.” SourceCon, 24 July 2015, www.sourcecon.com/sourcing-salary-survey-results/.
Richter, Felix. “Infographic: Average Hourly Earnings Climb to Unprecedented High.” Statista Infographics, 13 June 2019, www.statista.com/chart/17679/real-wages-in-the-united-states/.
Troy, Max TroyMax. “Pros and Cons of Salary vs Hourly Employee - Which Is Better?” OPTnation, 22 Mar. 2019, www.optnation.com/blog/pros-cons-salary-vs-hourly/.
This was kind of refreshing to read, because most of the other articles posted are strictly about COVID-19. I personally (and I’m sure the majority of all the other high school students share this experience as well) have only worked hourly wage jobs. There were quite a few things that I was not aware of in terms of how salary jobs work. For example, I knew that salary job employees didn’t get paid overtime, but I didn’t know that they can still get their paycheck if their job was shut down by the government. In the hourly wage jobs that I’ve had before, as you mentioned, (although I’ve never personally been fired) I’ve seen that it’s quite easy for the employer to let their employees go. In times like these, it’s really important that we all try and understand the types of living conditions that all people are in, so we can support one another, even if we’re not directly by their side. It was really insightful to be able to see the different ways others receive their income.
ReplyDeleteI think this is something that is important to think about considering we are thinking about jobs and our future after high school. This is something that I didn’t really think much about so it is good that this article is informing people on money when it comes to their future job. I also liked how you compare and contrast of which one is better especially in a crisis like this. It was a really informative and informational read.
ReplyDeleteI think this essay gives a nice insight to all the aspects of hourly and salary wages. Based off the content from this, I think both are very important for different reason. Hourly seems to be better for high school or earlier jobs when there isn't really a want or need to be held accountable for the work and when the one isn't to the point where they need the benefits just yet. While a salary seems to be better once people grow up and move towards a more steady and independent lifestyle when they need to sustain themselves.
ReplyDeleteThis post gives good insight on the reality of the work world. During a time where this Covid-19 pandemic is taking over our lives this is a very relevant topic. The most interesting part to me was the fact that salary workers are still paid during times where their company or business is shut down. Personally, I've only worked hourly jobs, and hourly workers don't get that damage relief. If there are no hours available for them to work they don't receive pay. So during times where things like this pandemic effect hours, hourly workers are vulnerable to take a huge financial hit. Although, I do still enjoy hourly wage as a high school student because as of right now I don't really need a steady income.
ReplyDeleteAt this point in time, I think it is fair to say that the differences between being a salary employee and a waged employee are significant. For example, as the corona virus continues to affect industry and employee many salaried employees are enjoying the benefits of still getting paid during this crisis while a good percentage of waged employees are not. Events like this can only change how society in the future views the two different types of pay. Nice Job Kyle.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this article. I thought it gave a good idea and view to hourly vs. salary. I would agree with others that it puts some insight on how the real world works. During a time like this I know that most of us probably miss our jobs right now and getting paid bi weekly or weekly, even though we don't depend on that money we are used to being a bit more excited towards the end of that week. During something like this I would say it's pretty obvious that anyone with an hourly wage job is getting hit somehow. Now is a good time more than ever to have a job with a salary.
ReplyDeleteWith most of us (myself included) either looking for or working in hourly jobs, this article provides a good explanation as to why salary jobs make a lot more sense from a lifetime career perspective. However, it's always great to keep in mind that each has its own benefits. Which one is better at the moment is a toss up, because people are laying back and not willing to work the stressful hours a salary job requires.
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