A friend told me this a few days ago, I thought it would be interesting enough to share.

My friend works remotely for a company based in the US. And this company had their money partially stored in Silicon Valley Bank. That bank went bankrupt and stopped working on 10th of March. And that was the day the company was supposed to pay the employees their salaries. The management then posted the message that says: "Don't worry, you'll get your money, but there will be a 3-day delay while we sort things out." So, that happened on Friday, and they promised to resolve the issue at the next Monday.

After that, the employees' chat got wild. People got mad, they were demanding their money, cursing the management, a few people even quit their jobs. My friend was surprised by that reaction. In fact, he (and other remote workers from Russia) got his paycheck delayed for several weeks before that because of some new restrictions, and that, while unpleasant, didn't bother him that much.

So, we wondered, why did people react in such a way? From my point of view, a 3-day delay is so insignificant that I probably wouldn't event notice if I wasn't told about it beforehand. People should have some savings in their bank account in case of emergency, right? Especially in IT, which I think pays well. And it's not like their money was stolen. Do people really live from paycheck to paycheck? Or is it irrelevant? Because that wouldn't explain the people who quit the job. I guess the real answer is a difference in mentality.

In my country, people probably would just suck it up. I know of some people who worked for a few months without payment. And in that situation they would probably even brag to each other saying like, "I had it worse." And cursing the management publicly just wouldn't fly. In the US, on the other hand, people seem to feel entitled to get what they've earned right away.

What do you think would happen in your country if a company delayed a paycheck for a few days? Or maybe you have a similar experience to share?