Spread the Word: The Nitty-Gritty of Nonprofit Communications

Equal Pay for Equal Work November 8, 2008

Feminists have been chanting these words for four decades, yet the pay scales of men and women in this country are still unequal. Today, I want to post about unequal pay in another context: Work-from-home vs. employee.

It is clear from job postings for off-site employees (call them contractors, freelancers, consultants, what have you) in the fields of communications, PR, and design that some employers believe these individuals should make LESS than their office counterparts. I recently challenged one of these job posters, citing equipment costs, healthcare coverage, no paid vacation, etc. etc., to which they replied, basically, “but people who work from home have more flexibility….”  And, so, that means they should be paid less??  Many employers answer yes.  I urge you not to be one of them.

Unless you are hiring interns, desperate recent grads, retirees, or stay-at-home moms and dads who just want to keep their skills sharp, $20/hour for mid-level professional work is NOT a fair wage. Employers offering these wages do not seem to understand the reality of the full-time work-at-home professional:

• I pay my own health insurance, life insurance, equipment service contracts and more, and I don’t get any group rate either.
• I purchase and maintain my own office equipment, software, and supplies. And when my computer breaks down, I don’t get paid to sit and wait while IT analyzes the problem for me.
• I buy my own business cards, develop and host my own website, print my own marketing materials, and pay for my own high-speed internet and phone service.
• When I get sick or head out of town for a few days or celebrate a religious holiday, I don’t get paid. I don’t get paid to take lunch. I don’t get paid to take a smoke break. When I get up from my computer to pee, I am off the clock.
• I pay for my own professional development, training, memberships, and more.
• I spend hours and hours–unpaid hours–looking for work, bidding on jobs, and building relationships, which may or may not pay out in the end.
• I have zero job security. Inevitably, even the most successful consultant will have periods without work–without any income at all–zero, zilch, nada.

Flexibility is indeed a benefit of working from home, as is empowerment, a sense of pride in being an “expert,” and the ability to wear pajamas through the noon hour, but none of these pay the mortgage.

Work-at-home professionals deserve the same hourly rates as their office counterparts, PLUS what it costs to provide benefits to those counterparts.  For mid-level communications professionals, this translates to roughly $40-70/hour, depending on geographic location. Be fair, be reasonable, employers. Be ethical. In the words of Spike Lee, “Do the right thing.”