“Joined Meta near ATH, now feeling like sh*t,”
While that looks like a crypto-related statement, apparently this is what it is like on the internal Meta (Facebook) bulletin boards, where people are acting very much like investors, not employees. Perhaps this particular user chose to take all of their salary in stock options or something, but I think it is an indicator of how many people behave these days - they want more than a paycheck, they want glory from the association with their company too.
One of my friends many years ago for example, wanted to work for a Fortune 500 company, because he wanted people to recognize the name on his business card automatically. It didn't matter what the company did - as long as it had general brand recognition. He ended up working for a pharmaceutical company.
As they say, money isn't everything - impressions matter too. And at the moment, it seems the good people of Facebook, feel that they are losing face. Well, technically they did, when they moved to Meta, which is likely part of the reason for the decline in price, as they have to pivot their business model somewhat to combat the changes in ad processes at Google and Apple, which has bitten into their revenue. When 98% of your income is ad-derived, any threat to the model has to be taken seriously.
Perhaps this particular user chose to take all of their salary in stock options or something
Actually, this is common practice and often the more senior an employee, the greater the percentage of stock-based value that makes up the salary. This means that the "early onboards" are going to get a pretty decent bump in pay, which is great in many respects, until things head south.
For example:
For instance, if an employee was given 100 shares back at issue, the price was 40 dollars, meaning the package was worth 4000. Soon after at the low, it dropped to 20 dollars, so they lost half the value of their issue. However, at the high, those 100 shares were worth 35,000 dollars and now, around 22,000. Despite being technically up, what is felt is the loss.
Obviously, I am simplifying it a lot here, but the same thing happens in crypto often, where for example people get upset that HIVE is down to 90 cents from the 3+ dollar highs, but it is also up about 800% since the early 2021 lows.
When you join matters.
And as such, it is likely that while some employees are disgruntled and are perhaps looking to go postal as their attractive static share package is not as attractive now, others are likely taking advantage of the situation, looking to buy the dip through their employment package, rather than directly. Not only this, in order to retain the "best and brightest", cash incentive is also available to stay - or be lured elsewhere.
We are all opportunists of some kind or another and as the quote goes,
Buy when there is blood in the streets, even if that blood is your own.
The employment market is "interesting" at the moment as there has been a lot of disruption over the last two years and many people are making some emotional decisions. Emotions cause volatility, and many will move quickly in order to satisfy their feelings. But, those who act strategically, will act intelligently instead, looking to take advantage of the market, like any investor would. Globally, while people are leaving their work or are unwilling to go back into the office, those who have some gumption are able to capitalize and expand their employment portfolio.
This is much like when there is a market crash and there is a massive amount of red, it is only a problem for those who do not have the option to buy. Those who do have financial availability though, are able to cost average their holdings downward, as even though they are taking an immediate hit on their holdings, the more important thing is increasing the stack under the assumption that their holdings are going to increase in value at some point in the future.
Holding 100 shares from 20 all the way up to 350 and then back to 20 is still the same 100 shares, but if in that process, the holdings can be doubled, tripled or quadrupled, it will only need to get to 100 again to be back to where it was in terms of value and at an ATH, it is well larger. Those who believe that Meta is in a recoverable dip, should be buying now, in the same way that those who believe in the future of Bitcoin being significantly higher than it is today, should be buying whenever they can, until that price is reached.
It is not easy though, as we are emotionally engaged in the buying decision of all things, so while we can talk about the tech or usecase, unless it triggers us at an emotional level, we will not act. For the employees at Facebook, many seem to be acting like Reddit crypto people, swinging from the positive to the negative, hyping and FUDding.
Rather than acting on price, what they should be doing is looking at usecase and realizing that perhaps, the problem isn't their paycheck, it is the type of company they work for and the business model it relies on. If they did that, maybe moving to another company would be the right move, but are they going to make the decision on what they get paid, or the direction of the industry trends?
To be an early investor, it is about predicting future trend, not immediate return on the status quo.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]