Do you begrudge high earners?

[cheerscheerscheerstomeyeahcheers]

Do you actually understand what they do and why they earn so much?
Would you be actually willing to put in the time and effort yourself?

I see so much griping about people that earn a lot, but I also see a lot of ignorance about why they earn what they do.

When I read the title my initial belief is that, no, I don't begrudge high earners at all. Then I read your post with do they "actually" and it annoyed me. I don't begrudge high earners but to think that only high earners put a lot of work in, have a lot of stress, or have high skills to earn that wage is nieve. Many people work extremely hard and are ridiculously underpaid. It annoys me when some high earners can't see this.

As others have said, high salaries and working hard are two separate topics. I don’t begrudge anyone anything they’re entitled to but I do begrudge the idea that we live in a meritocracy.

The hardest work I’ve ever done was in takeaways as a teenager to pay my bills and rent and I earnt £3.50 an hour (NMW then for u18s). I now have a middle management office job and it’s more stressful but nowhere near as hard. When I look around me at work, middle class well educated people are massively over-represented (proportionate to general society) esp in the highest paid jobs because education and opportunity breeds better earnings much more than hard work.

I know a few men who earn this sort of money (over 300,000 a year, a couple of them are nearer a million a year). I don’t know any women earning that much. I’m caught between admiring these men, envying them and wondering how the hell such a thing is possible as they can often seem uninformed, unimaginative and lacking in empathy. I can only assume their specialist knowledge and skills are enough for them to carry out their roles and their ability to operate at a high level in the real world is not important, but I still find it odd.

This may well be the case for many high earners. It’s definitely not the case for others.

Yes and No. Most of course not, I wouldn't want their positions. But I've met a few who I couldn't figure out why: some managers on £80k who are useless.

I don't begrudge them what they earn.

What I do have trouble with is their sneering, contemptuous attitude towards people who earn less than they do.

I had no idea about legacy spots. Reading about this now. This is a daft thread, but this post has taught be something so thank you!

Has the op came back to enlighten us yet

I used to be a high earner, in the top 1% or so. I will happily admit to tax avoiding - I paid into a pension and saved into an isa. Other than that I paid every penny of tax due, over 90k in some years. My job was always stressful and often toxic. I'm now self-employed and there are definitely a lot more ways to play the tax system if I wanted to.

It depends what they do. I know some high earners who admit to me that they don’t do much, but get paid a lot. Usually at a high level in their career and sometimes it’s more for knowledge they’re employed.

Some high earners I know do work hard, bankers eg. But most retire earlier and some it’s affected marriages due to long hours and stress.

DB earns a lot in his job but it’s long hours and often away from home and it’s not really doable with a young family. Or if it is, it’s better when you’re younger, not when you’re his age with a few health issues.

WHAT, only 1% of people earn over £180k and only 5% earn over 87k.

I would consider 300k to be an extremely high salary and I would expect them to be working very long weeks for this.

But a high salary say 90k I've seen people not actually doing more then those on lower wages, just depends on the sector you work in really rather then how much effort you put into the actual job. Plus often very high earns often have people underneath them who they can delegate work to.

When I was at school toward the end when we were about to leave a career officer came round with a selection of jobs for us to apply for . He kept offering me factory and shop work. When I asked about office jobs he laughed and said "Oh no dear they are for the Grammar school girls "

A lot of high earners sit round a table all week playing yackety yack, admiring brightly coloured-in reports and discussing strategy, while in the next building, hundreds of skilled employees on not much more than minimum wage are working their fingers to the bone manufacturing the goods.

They forget who, in that situation, the company needs the most.

I think that the main issue is that 'normal' jobs have become rubbish. The expectations on regular office jobs for unpaid overtime and extra hours and stress alongside the reduction in terms and conditions (final salary pensions etc...). 20 years ago it was possible to buy a house and have a 'normal' job along with a good work-life balance. My friend works for a failing private sector institution and noted that the board members were on hundreds of thousands of pounds while she was paid much less than colleagues at similar institutions. This organisation was also in a huge amount of debt. I have also noticed among my friends and family that a number of the higher earners are now going to live in places like Monaco, Dubai and Singapore. They can pay no income tax and their families can stay in the UK accessing schools and health care etc...Not sure what the answer is - I think if Labour raises taxes then lots of higher earners will leave - it is very easy to transfer to another country of residence if you are a high earner.

That’s always been the way though. My great uncle was a director of a few companies, mining mostly and travelled a lot, all over the world and was an expert in his field. He left a lot of money when he died, and earned equivalent to £300K apparently back then.

He didn’t have a laptop as this wasn’t around back then but he would’ve had one now. His lifestyle probably cost him his first marriage, he never had DC (not 100% sure why) and he doted on my DM (his favourite niece).

He worked bloody hard though compared to his younger brother (my grandad, DM’s DF) but he was the youngest son and spoiled (as well as lived through 2 world wars as a child).

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

“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.

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.

@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.