[pritianka]

No problem at all and glad you find the candor useful. It is one of our company values to be transparent :-).

I also hear you in your concern. There is a flip side perspective to what you are saying as well where someone might be forced to uproot from their home which happens to be in a more expensive area because they would save so much elsewhere. But regardless of the specific arguments, what I have truly learned here in this thread is that we should continue the conversation in the community. I am going to sync up with the people ops org and suggest that we share our rationale in more detail in the near future and/or also incorporate the good points that were raised.

I do think it is amazing that GitLab brings these conversations to the fore because opacity has been the norm for way too long around comp and we need to change that as an industry and community.

[ahkurtz]

For me, in this case, the specific arguments are exactly what matters. If your company claims a solid economic rationale they should provide one. I'm not sure how it's possible you've had this policy this long and can't come out swinging on this topic. Claiming fairness vaguely is not enough to gain goodwill. It's easy to assume greed and desire for control over employees in this remuneration policy, and I'm quite happy to make that argument if your company needs that feedback. You probably don't want people like me in your company, because I am annoying, but I do have a lot of diverse experience and an abiding concern for the health of my company and coworkers. If this policy doesn't reflect a deep level of antipathy about contributors (currently) high wages, and if the company would reverse this policy in considerance, people like me would be in the door tomorrow - thousands of us. You recently hired someone I love and deeply respect professionally, so I hope your company plans to take good care of them. They deserve it, and you do to. Everyone deserves it, especially if they can make it in the door in this new economy. I'm arguing for you too, you personally, if you can see that. End "brain-drain" in USA (and its associated economic spheres).