[nowbabynow]

no all employees are solving for max pay though (whether through salary or profits). for many, maximizing utility is maximizing leisure... ie if you pay more / give folks more profits, they may very well choose to work less.

[antisthenes]

You can be maximizing your hourly rate AND maximizing leisure at the same time.

You're confusing max pay with working more hours, whereas in reality no one actually wants to put in more hours, and in many cases those employees that put in most time is a negative signal showing their inefficiency.

[01100011]

This. Many of the folks I worked with liked 35 hour weeks and stayed in consulting because they were avid cyclists/surfers/hikers/etc.

The sort of folks that like high pay and poor work/life balance end up at big valley companies in my experience.

[cbsmith]

Meh. Big valley companies isn't the right criteria. There are "lifestyle businesses", and then there are other businesses. People do tend to make a conscious choice between the two.