Work and Salary Expectations

[jenh]

I work here as an expat for a big multinational - I am pretty sure at the end of 2010 everyone here got a 20% cost of living increase in 2 stages, one of 13% and one of 7%. I only heard this in passing, but it would fit with what others are saying.

I am also frequently frustrated by the work attitude in Argentina sometimes. In general, I just don't see the "sense of urgency" that is typical in most Western country work environments. Even my friends who work in Arab countries seem to think that dealing with Argentina and at times other parts of Latin America can be disjointed and people just seem less engaged. I'm not knocking Argentina - I really like it here - but there are differences, whether cultural or otherwise (and of course this could just be the rest of the world misinterpreting culture here) that can make work situations a challenge!

 

[jb5]

Guillo, I would hope you would "take it on your sholders" along with your peers to get a government elected that tackles inflation rather than denying it.

 

[jaredwb]

Guillo, I would hope you would "take it on your sholders" along with your peers to get a government elected that tackles inflation rather than denying it.

Why would he or his peers do that?? Then they wouldn't be able to demand 20/30% raises for doing nothing. Imagine if all the Argentina workers had to EARN their raises. They would rather quit than work harder.

 

[jb5]

Wow Jared, do you still do business there? Is it really that bad? Is this the same for blue collar workers and professionals in your experience? What type of business do you run?

Are young professionals interested in career advancement and getting trained to be globally competitive?

 

[jaredwb]

Wow Jared, do you still do business there? Is it really that bad? Is this the same for blue collar workers and professionals in your experience? What type of business do you run?

Are young professionals interested in career advancement and getting trained to be globally competitive?

I still do business here but as a representative of global Fortune 500 companies only...My employees (all expats) work as contractors under my U.S. based corporation. I do not have an office here (anymore) for exactly the reasons that have been discussed. And, most of these large corporations are moving their operations out of Argentina...slowly, but they are moving business units to Chile, Brazil, and Mexico.

Are ALL the workers here that bad? No...but the large majority are. Also, it does depend on who/what they work for. Union workers (blue collars) in Argentina are parasites that hold the country and companies hostages for outrageous increases in compensation for zero extra in work.

I have found that REAL professionals, Enterprise Sales people, Consultants, and anyone that actually have incentive based programs work hard. And other professionals, accountants, lawyers, engineers, marketing people, advertising...again, hard workers. Of course, education plays into this.

Everyone else...the laziest working class I have ever encountered (and again I have owned offices, and currently still do business in Europe, Asia, and North and other parts of South America) so I have a pretty good feel for people's work ethic. and for the record, no matter what anyone says, the U.S. workers work harder than anywhere else in the World. Asia has it's fair share of hard workers, but it is almost to the point where they do nothing else but work...I find that very unhealthy.

Most young and even seasoned professionals I speak with are always exploring opportunities...OUTSIDE of Argentina. Even they see there is no real future for business here and want to get to the U.S. Canada, Europe and Asia. Singapore for example has a very large Argentina population working in the Oil & Gas or Finance segment.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but in my personal experience, unfortunately, Argentina workers would be the last I would ever hire.

I own a Global RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) company.

 

[marksoc]

the U.S. workers work harder than anywhere else in the World

And that is why they are getting a better real wage than 30 years ago... Wait a minute... Errr, mmmm, forget what I said.

Those people complaining about workers in Arg. would have a heart attack in Europe. Well, I will continue being lazy today. Enjoy.

 

[jago25_98]

My employees (all expats) work as contractors under my U.S. based corporation.

I think that is the way to go. As is paying people for the work done. I can't help thinking the whole employee/employer setup itself is wrong and that perhaps things might work better if the tasks themselves were passed to the market.

 

[Guillo]

Why would he or his peers do that?? Then they wouldn't be able to demand 20/30% raises for doing nothing. Imagine if all the Argentina workers had to EARN their raises. They would rather quit than work harder.

And now inflation is workers fault or responsibility to change. A lot has been talked about inflation sources (a lot of cash entering the economy, lack of investment from companies and a bunch other things) but the fact that employees need to keep their salaries up to date on inflation has never been one of them, at most a consequence of the inflationary cycle and not a cause. On the other hand your sense of entitlement to profit ignoring worker conditions and reality, won't take you far here, as it has been already shown with your local business ventures.

 

[Guillo]

I think that is the way to go. As is paying people for the work done. I can't help thinking the whole employee/employer setup itself is wrong and that perhaps things might work better if the tasks themselves were passed to the market.

Are you sure you are on the right side of the law? There are obligations you have if you employ people here, it has lawsuit written all over it as soon as you someone is disgruntled and it won't be cheap.

 

[Guillo]

Guillo, I would hope you would "take it on your sholders" along with your peers to get a government elected that tackles inflation rather than denying it.

Believe me, I hate the current government because of their practice, but I won't be taking money out of my pocket so you have better profit.