The Human Cost of Exploitation
Do you ever stop to think about the real people behind the products and services you use every day?
In the relentless pursuit of profit, we often overlook the devastating human impact of corporate decisions made thousands of miles away.
Today, I want to share a story that highlights the stark difference between paying a market wage and providing a living wage, and why this distinction is now more crucial than ever.
A Tale of Two Realities
Some years back, I was hired by a health tech startup riding a fresh wave of funding. They were eager to scale quickly and minimize costs, so the company had set its sights on a small town in the Philippines.
They hired well over 500 local employees and even erected a massive office building — a move that seemed, on the surface, like a generous investment in the community. The folks in the Philippines were hired to do pretty much everything except some of the executive functions and the actual app development.
The wages offered were considered market rate for the area ($1.50 — $2 per hour). Compared to existing jobs, the pay was better, and the influx of positions was legitimately game-changing for a town with limited opportunities.
There is a veneer here that needs to be pulled back to reveal a harsh reality. While the salaries met the local market standards, they barely approached what one might call a living wage. Employees struggled to cover basic necessities, let alone save for the future or invest in education.
The lack of job security and absence of any labor standards at all meant that stability was never guaranteed. Opportunities for genuine advancement were few and far between, leaving many feeling stuck. Compounding these issues was a troubling lack of transparency about the company’s financial health — an especially concerning factor given the inherent volatility of startups.
This secrecy left employees in the dark, uncertain about their futures in an already precarious environment.
The Downward Spiral
As time went on, the shit really started to hit the fan. The company’s leadership, consumed by greed and plagued by mismanagement, failed to deliver on product development and market penetration. Panic set in at the executive level. In a desperate attempt to claw back control, the execs installed monitoring devices on all employee computers, which of course sowed distrust all over the place.
The top-down anxiety trickled down, and as is far too often the case, manifested as bullying and unreasonable demands on employees. Morale plummeted. The very people who were the backbone of the company’s operations were being squeezed beyond their limits — all while still earning barely enough to get by. You could feel the tightness in the air even through a zoom call.
The Human Cost
The situation reached a boiling point when the company decided to lay off 300 employees without any notice. Without notifying most of the management team, they legitimately fired 300 people and walked them out of the office. The justification was that they were “cheating” on their time. Now you see why the monitoring devices were really put into place ;).
One brave individual took a stand. Recognizing the injustice, he encouraged his colleagues to report the company’s practices to the local labor board. His selflessness put him at risk; the only thing safeguarding his position was the fact that he ran the entire payroll system.
I stayed with the company a while longer, attempting to mitigate the fallout and support my colleagues. Ultimately, the experience was a harsh lesson in how companies from developed nations exploit labor under the guise of providing “market wages.”
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Today, that same courageous colleague is the Director of Finance at CloudFruit. He’s incredibly talented. More importantly, I know that he is a selfless person. (I only enjoy working with selfless people. Selfish people suck to work with.)
Market Wage vs. Living Wage
So, what’s the difference between a market wage and a living wage?
Paying a market wage in an area where the market is depressed doesn’t absolve companies of ethical responsibility. When corporations leverage economic disparities to minimize labor costs, they perpetuate cycles of poverty and exploitation.
It’s astonishing how difficult it is to get (rich) people to agree that everyone should be paid appropriately, regardless of where they live. Many in developed nations profit off the labor of those in less affluent countries, hiding behind the justification of market wages. This isn’t progress — it’s a rebranding of age-old exploitation.
The narrative of helping developing communities through job creation often masks the reality of siphoning value while giving as little as possible in return.
We Demand More
We must challenge the status quo. Whether you’re a business leader, an employee, or a consumer, you have a role to play:
Conclusion
The story of this health tech startup is not an isolated incident; it’s a symptom of a larger problem in our global economy. We need to move beyond accepting market wage as a justification for exploitation. Paying a living wage is a necessary step toward building a fair and sustainable future. Period, honey.
Let’s not swallow the rebranded narratives that perpetuate inequality. Instead, let’s push for genuine progress that lifts everyone up, no matter where they are in the world.
Author’s Note: Working with people who value integrity and selflessness has shown me that businesses can thrive without compromising on ethics. It’s time we all demand better — for ourselves, for our colleagues, and for the countless individuals whose labor keeps the world turning.