The Value of Labor
Have you ever been to the mechanic and got a quote for $1000 and then found out that the car part costs $200? Why? That’s the cost of labor. Why is a massage expensive? You’re buying someone’s time. Therapy, same. The list goes on and on.
Your Time
I’m convinced many of us think we are underpaid. Whatever your hourly rate you probably think it is insufficient because of X, Y, Z. We have insight into how much we are stressed, how much effort we are putting it, the sacrifices we are making, the years of experience we have, the years of schooling required to get to here. All that combines to, yeah, you better pay me a lot.
Others Time
If your time is so valuable, then why don’t you treat other’s time just the same? I think it is because we lack empathy. You are living life from your perspective so you don’t realize just how much training and effort others are putting in as well.
Imagine you want to paint your interior walls and a painter gives you a quote of $70 an hour and says it will take 10 hours. No way you think, maybe for $20 an hour, so I can just do it myself. After a full month of burned weekends and almost falling off a ladder you realize that you should’ve just paid them. They are faster because they are skilled and you could’ve bought your time back at a bargain.
The cost of labor varies all over the world. Globalization has put lots of manufacturing in Asia because labor is cheaper. All those boxes coming to your house are affordable because you aren’t making them. You could carve wooden blocks for your kids, but it’s their comparative advantage. If you are curious about the cost of labor in a country, just check out the price of a massage which is nearly all labor.
Outsourcing is also using other people time. Uber, Instacart, DoorDash. If you use them it is because you find the trade-off worth it. But I bet you still think it is too expensive.
Things that take human labor are expensive. Why do you have to speak to a robot before getting to an agent? Because humans are expensive. I’m still putting off the AI articles.
Conclusion
If I haven’t convinced you previously, hopefully this one shows your time is valuable. And not only your time but everyone’s time. Paid and unpaid activities. Hanging out with a friend is wonderful; you are both lending your time.