Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Work or Pay Systems

[John Faust (wjfaust]

I guess the only way to determine the "value" of a task is to see what it
would cost to outsource it. If it costs $200 a month to have the walkways
swept, then that is the value of the task. When done this way, it isn't
really number of tasks vs number of hours; it is the value of tasks vs
number of hours. This also means the high value tasks that may not require
that many hours (but special skills) have to be shared among those that can
do them. There can even be training by those that have the skills to ensure
that everyone has the ability to do these "choice" tasks.

Getting estimates of what it costs to do the maintenance is probably
important in any case. You may even elect to have some tasks outsourced
rather than done as a community. This also tells you what a fair portion is
for those who would rather not (or can't) contribute physical labor and
would rather pay.

John Faust