Omachoko
Omachoko
Jul 20, 2017 · 3 min read

Decisions decisions decisions: To work for 35k a month or not? 💭

“I ‘m not shy about heated debate or passionate discourse, but when people get crazy or rude that’s a buzz kill. There has got to be some better code of conduct some basic etiquette.” — Mos Def

It stated when a few days ago a Twitter user tweeted this:

It was a job advert for the role of an accountant, with N30–35k per month as remuneration. The rest as they say, is history as there were several reactions to the tweet. Some agreed, and others were far from impressed. Then there was the one tweet that set it all off.

As is usually the case with human behaviour, there was a lot of outraged responses (just follow the thread of the tweet and you’ll get the full picture). Essentially, the outraged ones ensured that a lot of arguments and counter-arguments tossed about.

One side argues that no matter how low one is paid for an entry position, one should take it as a foot in the door and leverage the experience gained to get higher paying jobs ultimately.

On the opposing side, the argument was broadly that job seekers especially university graduates, ought to earn decent wages from jump. This is especially after all the expenses incurred via university tuition and living costs.

Both points of view are right in the correct context. I am of the view that for folks who are entrepreneurial, working for free and low wages comes naturally to them. These types are self-starters who need little or no external motivation to work toward their goals. However, based on this, I think it is unfair to expect everyone to take on the same low paying jobs.

We need to take into account that N35, 000 from last month under the current conditions might not even be worth up to N30, 000 in a month’s time thanks to high inflation. In a country where government policies are whipped up on whims with its attendant effect on the economy, it is understandable that people want decent pay from the start.

The experience argument seems iffy to be frank. It’s safe to say not all experiences are beneficial. Some organisations are notoriously terrible with their business practices and end up being harmful to personal growth.

On the other hand the folks who insist that people must be paid much higher wages tend to forget market forces are at play. There are simply more potential employees than there are jobs (especially at entry level. This makes it easy for employers to lower wages and thus offer what seems to be less than impressive to most entry level applicants.

While I believe we should keep demanding better wages, I think that it should be linked to general economic growth. We should focus our demands more on the government that has made the business environment so challenging a lot of businesses in Nigeria look like miracle workers.

I mean, the ease of doing business index ranks Nigeria as 169th in the world! (source Wikipedia) you can look it up here. This tells us that macro-economic factors more than anything else are responsible for low wages. So, while it is okay to be outraged, directing your ire at employers alone is not looking at the big picture.

Finally, I’d like to stress how wary of bias we should be when making these arguments. I have seen people turn down low paying jobs, waiting until the “right jobs came along.” It was irritating at the time but they were vindicated. I have also watched people literally start by working for free, making their way up the organisational chain. This person, a cousin of mine actually, incredibly went on to own his own company in the same field.

I do not think any side of the argument is better. No, this is not a cop out. I honestly believe people should be left to follow their convictions and also the consequences therein.

There you have it, both sides are right.

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Omachoko

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Omachoko

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