[linguae]

This has been my strategy. I would rather be paid less working for a lower-stress company that treats my colleagues and me well than to get paid a higher salary working in a stressful, less respectful environment.

With that said, I’m paying for this decision with inflation outpacing annual merit increases at work, which means my effective pay is getting reduced as the prices of everything else rise around me. I still rent an apartment; I got repeatedly outbid in 2021 when I attempted to buy a home, and then the interest rate hikes of 2022 and 2023 completely priced me out of the market. I’m still living fine, but this inflationary environment is highly demoralizing.