Do you begrudge high earners?

Well, sometimes. It's not as though there's one singular thing that is "hard". There's plenty of people in all tax brackets who coast through life doing as little as they can get away with.

No as a PA to several high earners I wouldn't want their job for all the tea in China, when they tell me they've been working until 10/11 at night, have days full of calls and meetings I'm quite happy doing my job as I tend to be able to switch off by 7 at night.

That's not what @BusyCM was saying though. She wasn't saying you don't work hard. Clearly reading comprehension isn't needed for your high-earning role.

but then without the high earners guiding the ship so to speak then could the population still run effectively without top level / medium level .management ?

I don't begrudge successful people, I learn from them. Unlike others who just get jealous, petty and angry and want to take their money away.

Not sure I know anyone who earns that. The wealthy we know are old money / inherited money. One family richer than you can possibly imagine. Can be hard parenting alongside them (our teens best friends) as they are lovely but money literally no object to them so they do everything including holidays really last minute. Normal families need to plan / budget!

but then just because its not physically hard work it can still be hard work in other ways, eg management of various logistics etc

No, i dont really gave a clue what people do to command such high salaries in general. I dont know many people that do earn that much, and the few that do, dont seem any more inconvienced by their jobs than many of my more normal salaried friends. They just seemed to be concentrated in industrues focussed on increasing wealth of the wealthy.

I used to work extremely hard to the point of burnout several times when I was working in the UK.
I used to carry a huge amount of responsibility on my shoulders - human lives.
I used to work on occasions almost double my hours - over 60 hours a week, evenings, all-nighters writing reports, weekends, very common to work over annual leave and even sick leave and managers even expected it and encouraged it.
I used to live and breathe my job.

I was a child protection social worker earning just over £30,000.

I don’t begrudge high earners at all - well done to them! I respect them as long as they are not doing something immoral or corrupt or cutting corners.

But I also can’t stand the belief “only high earners” work hard, or that’s it’s only “high earners who are holding the rest of society up”.

I suppose it depends on what you consider "hard" work.

Some jobs are physically challenging (factory work, manufacturing, labouring, building) others are mentally challenging - social work I can imagine being very mentally stressful.

My job is not physically demanding, customer service sat at a desk all day but it's certainly draining at times being spoken to like shit by the public.

its partly the fact that others want the rewards of the ones that go the extra mile but without going the extra mile when they get the offer, and at least some cases this is true.

You do realise hard work does not mean better pay? The hardest work is done by those on MW.

I don’t begrudge them. I don’t think there is always a correlation between people who work hardest and add the most value to society and how much someone earns. I don’t think high earners are always deserving of the salaries compared to low earners.

I do somewhat begrudge my employer which pays less than my industry standard, and the industry in general which is not particularly well paid. That said obviously I don’t begrudge it enough to leave, I love my job and the people I work with and wouldn’t want to risk losing that by moving elsewhere and certainly wouldn’t want to try and retrain or move to another industry.

with some i know they soon want the extra privilege's. that others get from doing x tasks but then they don't want to do the x tasks, put in the time or do what is necessary to complete said tasks, then they moan about the ones that put themselves forward for doing extra tasks. people are a puzzlement at times.

It would be interesting if it was possible to measure people precisely on how hard they worked and then pay them accordingly.
<wanders off to start dystopian novel>

@BusyCM has hit the nail on the head! From the tone of the OP message it's as if we have to feel sorry for high earners or respect them because they work SO hard and really earn every penny! I genuinely don't think you can compare the work a 'high earner' does to those who work in the care industry for very little money! I see people who are high earners go on business trips abroad and stay in extravagant hotels! They get bonuses each year that are quadruple, if not more, than some people's average wage! With high earning you should have responsibility, but you also get the bonus of being able to afford a nice lifestyle! What is the point of the post? Are we meant to be thankful for high earners? Respect them more? Think they work harder than everyone else! If you're a high earner and have time to post this question on Mumsnet it suggests, you don't work that hard.

Apart from the below which isnt jealousy problems with them earning that much.

But I hate the insinuation that it's only they work whoharder than other people, there is people on minimum wage who work hard so wind your neck in.

I do t like it when they come on here and piss and moan and make out they aren't on a high wage and are poor.

I do think that there ought to be limits that you can only be on a certain amount multiplied the lowest paid in your company. Then it keeps the company's wages fairer for all.

“Would you be actually willing to put in the time and effort yourself?”

I begrudge high earners who think they are the only people investing time and effort. In my field (child protection) everyone invests a great deal of time and effort, often at a personal cost, but it’s not recognised financially. Overtime is unpaid. There’s no time to take toil. I also think there are plenty of other jobs that require a great deal of effort, such as care work or childcare, where the effort isn’t reflected in the pay. Attitudes that suggest people working in those roles are lazy and high earners are superior is part of the reason why services that are most needed in society are falling apart.

High earnings tend to come with high pressure so no, I don't begrudge them. I'm happy as a (retired) supermarket section leader

Hard work does not lead to higher wages. Skills leads to higher wages. Most low earners work very hard indeed.

It’s not. The highest paid job I ever had was the least stressful. It’s only a handful of people who sacrifice their lives to their career and those careers are relatively short lived because people burn out quickly.

I begrudge the managers I've worked with that were lazy, incompetent bullies, but that's it.

6 figure earners usually get that as compensation for responsibility not how hard they work. Many on those salaries could be reputationally ruined or face jail if junior staff members screw up, so no, I don't begrudge them that salary

Yes, definitely all the bankers who fucked up leading to 2008 financial crisis were the main ones to pay the price.

I don't begrudge high earners. But certainly low earners typically work longer hours and have harder jobs. High earners often enjoy their jobs and get social status and of course ££££ from them. They have typically niche skills coupled with knowledge of industry and good at getting through hoops eg interviews. Often hard working and committed to their career. But def don't think they work harder and have more stress than those in low income jobs.

I begrudge a system that rewards those who boost capitalism and the huge wealth of others. Hedge fund managers, finance sector, IT etc etc while not rewarding any value or significant qualification to those who give insightful, skilled caring to those at the extreme ends of life. If babies and toddlers and elderly were prioritised as a group deserving of skilled, high quality care and paid accordingly it would benefit society. Those who save lives or improve lives in the public sector should be highly paid with access to affordable homes to encourage quality people to join or stay.
It says so much about our society that the situation is as it is now.