[codemac]

> Very few of my peers have ever cared about this in practice. I don't think this is remotely a major benefit compared to e.g. state taxes.

Well, while working in RTP I saw many suits filed for my coworkers for non-compete clauses.

If you're ~director or above, this matters a lot and the bigco's basically auto file the lawsuit in any jurisdiction where enforceable. At least one exec I reported to had to take a year off as a result of these lawsuits.

IMO it's a huge deal for the HQ execs of many companies, similar to how tax benefits are a huge deal to the rank-and-file.

[ska]

> At least one exec I reported to had to take a year off as a result of these lawsuits.

Yes, it is a bigger issue on both sides of the table when you get to director+ level. The company often has much more to lose, and the employee often has far fewer potential new homes. These things tend to balance out; I've seen contracts with non-compete timeline matched or exceeded by severance timeline for that reason.