Member-only story
From A Financial Standpoint, Us Peon Workers Are Just Ugly Carpeting
When I first started writing about issues with work, in maybe 2014 (wow, it’s been a second), one of the better perspectives out there was Peter Cappelli, who I think is still at Wharton, but I may be wrong. Here’s something new-ish from him. I read it last night as I contemplated my various 2022 failures and 2023 goals, and this part popped:
One answer to those questions is the peculiar way that financial accounting in the United States treats employment costs (which differs from the way that international standards treat them). Despite all the rhetoric about “investing in our people,” training and development aren’t considered investments; they’re categorized as a current expense, a type of fixed cost — just as carpeting is. So are other employment costs such as wages and salaries for all administrative work. Given that U.S. companies enjoy considerable freedom to lay off workers…
