Business owner discovers he's paying his employees 113% more than the average business owner in his area: 'Similar firms are paying 35% less than last year.'

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Feb 14, 2026 8:00 PM EST

They're deflating wages either because they're greedy or because they fear the worst.

Is 2008 going to happen again? It feels like it's going to happen, but it just hasn't happened yet. For the past year, everyone's been talking about how bad the job market is, even though the stock market keeps rising. Everyone knows somebody who has been laid off, but there's been no word that we're actually officially in a recession. A lot of companies are operating as if 2008 is going to happen any second now, and so are a lot of people. 

Not all companies are going into panic mode quite yet. If the numbers show their business is as healthy as ever, the higher-ups might feel no reason to halt hiring or lay off employees. If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you too? But it can be difficult not to succumb to the rumors that the economy is going to completely collapse, AI is going to replace all of us, and we will be stuck in a permanent underclass from which we can never escape. If you're a risk-averse business owner who feels uncertain about the future of your company, you might just sell it off to private equity and let them do their bidding. But if you have faith in your employees and your business, now might not be the time to throw out the baby with the bathwater. If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you too?

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  • Business man using smartphone on chair
    via bruce mars

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The business owner in this story was shocked to discover that he pays his employees so much more than his peers. He participated in a survey of business owners in his area and found that many had cut salaries over the past year rather than raise them. He hasn't found that to be necessary.

  • I'm paying my employees so much more than everyone else in my area

    I'm a business owner. I read the posts here once in a while to see what I can do to keep my employees happy.
    via u/looking4euterpe
  • Portrait of successful business team posing in office
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • One of the things I've done every year is a salary survey. I hire a firm to survey similar businesses in my area to see what average wages are for the positions I need.
    via u/looking4euterpe
  • I've always targeted paying about 40% above market average, because that gets me high quality employees (and for 10 years or so it's allowed me to recruit great people solely through word of mouth).
    via u/looking4euterpe
  • In a typical year I find I'm right in my target range. But this year? I just got the survey and it turns out I'm paying 113% above the geographic average.
    via u/looking4euterpe
  • Not because I gave everybody big raises... it's because similar firms are paying less than they have in the past.
    via u/looking4euterpe
  • A form W-2 wage and tax statement
    via Hans (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • About 35% less than last year! I'm trying to figure out what's going on. My guesses so far: a) businesses like mine are being bought up by venture capital folks (I've turned down multiple offers) who are trying to squeeze every penny out of a place that they can b) businesses are fearing an economic downturn, so they're not willing to spend on new hires (and are telling the survey taker what they'd pay for a new employee rather than a current one) c) when they lose employees they're getting lots
    via u/looking4euterpe
  • Survive 1014 I think alot of billionaires are actively colluding to reduce wage costs by whatever means necessary.
    via u/Survive1014
  • Olfima It's called a wage reset and they attempt it every thirty or so years
    via u/Olfima
  • mike2ff I've seen similar in job listings in the Chicago area. Firms that should be paying 120K for positions are currently offering 85-100K. Not sure if people are smelling a recession coming and adjusting wages, or if the new fiscal year hiring cycles haven't fully kicked in yet, and only the usual poor paying firms are recruiting.
    via u/mike2ff
  • LAbombsquad My old boss didn't give me 10% after it was more than justified. They thought GC safety reps were making under 100k. Went and got myself 30% more plus a ton of extra benefits. Most owners (especially family owners) are completely out of touch with reality. And instead of trying to hire someone to replace me, which would've absolutely cost them more, they bumped the coordinator up to manager for likely a 10-20% bump on what he was making. Kudos to you for doing the surveys.
    via u/LAbombsquad
  • MonkeyPanls > I've always targeted paying about 40% above market average, because that gets me high quality employees (and for 10 years or so it's allowed me to recruit great people solely through word of mouth). "Pay peanuts, get a circus."
    via u/MonkeyPanls
  • harkandhush I'm job searching right now and I see a lot of listings for jobs that require specific skills and are barely above minimum wage. It's wild what some companies think skills, time and effort are worth. They also all want experience for these massively underpaid jobs.
    via u/harkandhush
  • Effective_Pie1312 I am applying to jobs. My field has dropped salaries by more than 35%. Even if I am willing to accept that cut, I am not getting any phone screens. It's miserable right nowZ
    via u/Effective_Pie1312
  • wizkid123 d) the market is flooded with people looking for jobs who aren't part of official unemployment numbers (eg they took a crappy part time job to cover bills or have stopped looking 'actively' but still apply here and there) so wages are depr sed e) the majority of job postings are fake and the survey company is relying on posted ranges instead of payroll data f) some combination of a-e
    via u/wizkid123
  • Fantastic_You7208 First, thank you for being a human being and for realizing that can't you can't get decent staff and quality work for the lowest wages. I think your venture capital thought is probably pretty on target, as well as the idea that new hires are generally being offered a little less. (not 35% less in a year though). I can see maybe why survey takers would share starting wages and not average wages if they are worried, but I don't think most survey takers would all become invested i
    via u/Fantastic_You7208

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