When big multi-national companies send their workers abroad, they often add a certain amount of “hardship premium” added to their salaries based upon how how bad the perceived quality of life is for expats in the country they are being sent to.
That is the point of the Mercer Quality of Living Rankings – to help companies figure out how tough life is going to be for their employees in different countries and how much bonus money they should get because of it.
That being the case, it seems like some foreign workers being sent to Jakarta are probably getting quite a pocketful of hazard pay. Based on the results of Mercer’s 2016 survey, Jakarta ranked well into the bottom half of all cities surveyed, coming in at #142 out of 230.
The survey’s ranking is based upon numerous criteria, covering everything from political and economic stability to public services, education, recreation and transportation.
But Mercer said that the most important factor in the ranking is personal safety. In that category, Jakarta ranked even lower at #172 (just barely edging out Bangkok which was ranked #173 in the safety category this year due to “considerable political unrest and terrorist attacks in several tourist areas over the last few years”).
Jakarta fared poorly compared to many of its Southeast Asian neighbors in the overall rankings. Singapore, of course, came in the highest of all Asian cities at #26, but Kuala Lumpur (#86). Bangkok (#129) and Manila (#136) all came in ahead of us as well.
According to the survey, the city with the highest overall quality of living (for several years in a row) is Vienna, Austria, while the city with the absolute lowest ranking is, unsurprisingly, Baghdad.
While we agree that Jakarta certainly has a long way to go in improving its quality of living standards for all of its citizens, we’re not sure how we feel about expats working for big multinationals (who often already get compensation packages that are many multiples of a local salary and covers housing, cars, drivers, housekeepers and children’s schooling) getting a “hardship premium” on top. But we are but simple media folk for whom all of this talk of compensation packages is rather an abstract concept anyways. What do you think?
