You can use cryptocurrency to buy a house, transfer money to relatives abroad and, in some cases, even order a pizza — it then stands to reason that some may want to be compensated directly in a popular cryptocurrency like bitcoin or ether.
In a study done in partnership with research firm Workplace Intelligence and personal finance startup SoFi at Work, 84% of respondents said that the company they work for should be responsible for their financial well-being while only 55% feel that their company is concerned about it.
Crypto, by contrast, is growing increasingly popular. The study interviewed over 1,600 HR employees working in both leadership and lower-level positions.
More And More People Would Get Paid In Crypto And NFTs
But while the sense that employers do not look out for their employees' interests is (unfortunately) common across the industry, a more surprising fact emerged about cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens.
A way of asserting ownership over a piece of online content, an NFT can be both extremely valuable or nothing more than another image on the internet.
A further 36% of survey respondents would want to receive part or all of their paycheck in crypto, while 42% would be happy to see their employer add NFT as a reward for good performance.
A further 56% would want to learn about investing in cryptocurrency or NFTs as part of the job.
In turn, large numbers of workers said that being happy with one's benefits would impact their productivity (86%), desire to stay with their employer (86%), job satisfaction and engagement at work (84%) and ability to focus (84%).
"Today's crypto-savvy workers are driving new benefits trends," the report reads. "A growing number of workers — but especially millennials — are interested in being paid in crypto or receiving NFTs as a performance reward."
Is Getting Paid In Crypto A Good Thing, Though?
With bitcoin and ether's worth soaring thousandfold in the last five years, it is not surprising that many would see receiving some in the form of a salary as a way to tap into the profitable but, at present, already expensive cryptocurrency market.
At the same time, cryptocurrency is also an incredibly volatile investment as everything from a tweet by Elon Musk to lawmaker talk of regulation can send its value up or down — a salary entirely in cryptocurrency, then, would be a seriously risky undertaking.
"Bitcoin is not a currency in any real sense," Dan Weil recently wrote for TheStreet. "Real currencies are used for real transactions, buying goods and services. Bitcoin is used for speculation."
The Kids Want Financial Security
Perhaps more than cryptocurrency itself, the SoFi study reveals that workers are concerned about financial security above all — half of the survey respondents said that the pandemic worsened their financial situation while a further 47% are worried that the money they have won't be enough when they are no longer able to keep working.
About 41% feel that their lack of finances controls their life entirely and 51% believe that they would not be able to handle an unexpected financial emergency.
With more and more news articles talking of beginner investors who got rich, crypto and NFTs may simply be what many see as a way to grow their wealth.
"Three out of four workers have at least one source of financial stress," the report reads. "This feedback came through loud and clear from employees of all ages, incomes, and from varying industries."
