I've always been curious about what it's like to work for the Church. Do they pay well? Do employees get decent benefits? What about the gender wage gap?
No, they pay at the lowest possible end of the scale. I'd bet benefits are sparse (it's the lords money, they say). Yes, there is a vast wage gap as they believe women don't need the money they earn as much as the men do.
It's not automatic but to work for the church you must have a TR and to have a TR you must pay tithing so if you do not pay, you lose your TR and then your job.
It wants everything for free. Worship the church on Sundays and now add five more days a week to that, working for the Mormon church, for the lowest possible wage and most unprofessional treatment you could deserve, or imagine, would seem like torture - isn't that against the law?
Years ago,if you work overseas, they treat you well. Housing, car, trips home, fantastic medical insurance, really good salary. I still hated it when my husband had a job with the church. I never wanted to do it again. There was lots of gossip, backbiting, judgemental attitude, and we both hated going to church every Sunday with all the people he worked with, including bosses. It only lasted a year or 2, and I was so glad when he went to work for a company outside the church.
I worked for CES in the Institute division, part time (no benefits, of course), back in the late 70's. Wages were very low, initially, but they did raise them to be more in line with the jobs at the local college/university. (Way below what is minimum wage now, of course.) It's an odd place to work for. It's all about love of the gospel and dedication and syrupy Utah female voices on the phone making super nice-nice! I found it nauseating! I did have a little office and building all to myself at times which was great as I could do a lot of writing, uninterrupted.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2016 10:06PM by SusieQ#1.
I thought that their pay was at the lower end of average. Not high. Not too low.
What was really hard on me was that they expected perfection from us, without giving us the time needed, nor the resources to create that perfection.
There was a lot of guilt-tripping regarding your performance and how it affected everyone else around you.
Because of that, morale was often quite low.
Edit: Having read the other comments - no, they did not automatically deduct my tithing, but I knew that they knew how much I made, which ensures an honest tithe. And yes, if your Temple Recommend is not current, there goes your job.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2016 10:10PM by Greyfort.
My father spent 40+ years as a CES employee, starting as a seminary teacher in Salt Lake in the 70s and retiring a few years ago from a seminary administration position over 8 stakes. Growing up, none of us kids knew how much he made--until I had to fill out a FAFSA my senior year. He made more than I thought he did, but spread out over 8 kids it never seemed like that much--$62,000 (in 2000).
In addition to the temple recommend requirement, in CES at least, there's an unwritten rule that employees should be married as well. I remember observing my father having a conversation with a young adult (post-college) who wanted to go into seminary teaching as a career, after an institute class; on the ride home, he confided to me that he was trying to discourage this person from pursuing a career with CES because he was already well out of college but unmarried.
The Physical Facilities managers in Europe seemed to be rewarded pretty well. They were paid a good salary, often putting them among the higher earners in the church over there.
There are less highly paid individuals in the church in Europe of course. Not many medical doctors, cosmetic surgeons, or dentists in the church to compete against.