Maslow!
Alconguin
Of course it doesn't. I am hardly new to this profession.
In the same way that you can buy a Skoda or Lykan Hypersport and it will still get you from A to B. In the same way that you can eat in a Michelin Starred restaurant or eat street food and not die of starvation. If of course follows that there is more than work to getting paid!!!
Good old Maslow's pyramid comes to mind. My point is not that getting paid is the end state but that getting paid is far more rare than many and perhaps you think?
It is the conditions and execution of the contractual obligations OVER & ABOVE the pay that do indeed differentiate the good from the bad. We can have an existence or we can enjoy our lives because of those differences.
The point being raised by furbpilot was that he would rather leave what he had here to go to THY. Where the Ts&Cs are ignored and you are not even paid what was on your contract. I care more about good wifi and good a/c in my hotel room than about the quality of the swimming pool others may say the opposite. The same follows for life in Istanbul versus Dubai. However the proof is in the pudding and more expats come here than Istanbul so feel vindicated by this alone.
That said just because the majority of people do something, of course does not mean that it is correct, right or fair so it is not a winnable argument suffice to say I think anyone who would rather be at TK than EK is certifiable but that is MY opinion and not a fact. (something Cerebus would likely call some name or other)
I think the thread started with how unprofessional the airline is and furby decided to come in with his example of not liking his accommodation as proof of that.
I there come back to the thread point and my point. The ME pays well and gives good benefits, benefits that many other airlines do not even come near to and with opportunities that simply do not exist for many of us in our homes countries (14-18yrs to command on B777 at BA or Virgin) come to mind. If that means that everyone has to put up with some fatigue and even overwork. I personally am happy to kill myself for my career and to provide for my family.
Sorry but work life balance is all pinko lefty rubbish. I don't care how long and hard I work or if it kills me. I just want my family to have the cost of my blood, sweat and tears. Desirable for me doesn't have to be the same for you. However it has to be enough to keep the planes flying as when it becomes so undesirable than no one wants to work here that is when they have clearly gotten the hiring policy or retention policy (stifled laugh) wrong.
This doesn't make me a management wet dream it makes me a realist. The world doesn't care how valuable we think we are, the world doesn't care what we think, the world doesn't owe us a living so if China, Ryanair, Asia et al draw al the pilots away and EK, FZ, etc become the next Ghost Ship airlines then they will simply have to reconsider or become extinct.
For now though, you're here. I'm here and until we find something better or it kills us thems our apples.