Employee Argues Bi-Weekly Paychecks Are Deceptive and Should Not Be Allowed
"People tend to have short-term memories and often think, 'that’s a lot of money.'
A worker named Kyle got fed up with the way bi-weekly paychecks play mind games, and his rant is making the rounds for one simple reason: payday can feel bigger than it actually is.
In the video, Kyle argues that getting paid every two weeks creates an illusion, because people see the number and immediately think, “That’s a lot of money,” without doing the math for how often it really comes. He also points out the unfairness of how hourly work gets converted into a two-week payday, asking why employers do not “hire you at a bi-weekly rate” instead.
And once the comments started rolling, it turned into a messy debate about pay schedules, tracking wages, and who gets squeezed in the gap.
Most workers in the U.S. are paid bi-weekly
NBCKyle expressed his belief that bi-weekly paychecks can be deceiving, as they give the illusion that workers are earning more than they actually are. He highlighted the fact that people usually have short-term memories and, upon receiving their paycheck, often think, 'that’s a lot of money,' not considering the fact that they will only receive it every two weeks.
mysteryofkyleKyle’s “why don’t they just pay us hourly every hour” comparison landed hard, especially once people pictured what they would do if that money hit their hands daily.
Kyle raised the point that employers tend to hire people on an hourly basis, but they pay them every two weeks. He questioned why they don't just employ someone on a bi-weekly rate instead, asking, 'Why don’t they just hire you at a bi-weekly rate?'
'But if they actually handed us our hourly rate in cash every hour, we would start to rethink our choices,' he said. 'We would start to think about how hard we worked over the last hour and whether it was worth it.'
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This is similar to the roommate debate over splitting utility bills equally despite income disparities.
Watch the video:
Many viewers in the comments section of the video concurred that bi-weekly paychecks are insufficient, but others highlighted the hurdles faced by employees who are paid monthly.
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Many have stated that they are careful to keep track of their wages, regardless of when they are paid.
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The conversation got even more tangled when commenters brought up the other side, saying monthly pay can be its own kind of trap for workers who are trying to budget.
Still, a bunch of viewers insisted they track every paycheck no matter the schedule, even though Kyle’s whole point is that most people do not.
By the time the thread drifted into the bigger issue of low wages and the lack of bargaining power, Kyle’s payday complaint started to feel less like a quirk and more like a symptom.
Employees in the United States face many injustices, one of which is low wages. Low wages can lead to a number of negative outcomes, such as poverty, unemployment, and inequality.
Low wages can also contribute to poor health and mental health conditions, as workers may not be able to purchase basic necessities. In addition, low wages can limit workers’ ability to save for retirement, buy a home, or start a business.
There are several reasons why wages are so low in the United States. One of these is the need for labor unions and collective bargaining.
Unions provide workers with the power to negotiate better wages and improved working conditions, but in the United States, labor union membership has declined over the years.
Additionally, employers have taken advantage of lax labor laws and regulations, allowing them to pay workers below the minimum wage and avoid providing benefits.
Nobody wants to feel fooled by their own paycheck, especially when the math never changes.
Want more pay-and-bills drama? Check out the employee who asked their sibling to pay more after finding secret side income.
