Do you get regular raises where you work?

Factual Questions
1

My company has another new manager, and he’s had some decent ideas and some that just seem flaky.

We have two “classes” of employees – the employees with the union are covered by a negotiated working agreement, and have had steady pay raises ever since I can remember and will continue to receive them.

The other class is the salaried folks – no union – and raises have been steady as well. Usually a cost-of-living increase, or a merit raise, or promotion. Sometimes the promotion has just been a title change to reflect the increase in a person’s value to the company – to keep them from jumping ship, I guess. In addition to the regular raise, there have been incentives for exceptional employees.

But there’s always been something* to show that your loyalty and dedication are appreciated.

Until now. We’re told our profits are higher than ever before, but rather than doing it the “old way”, employees will receive bonuses. These bonuses are based on demonstration that the employee has done something to affect the bottom line, to save the company money, or to increase profits in other ways.

Well, I’m pissed. Are other companies doing this?

We’ve already had staff cutbacks, and everyone I know is working harder, or smarter, or longer hours, to compensate.

We’re sorta stuck – the company is pretty much the only game in town, and anyone leaving for greener pastures is going to have to relocate.

The bonus thing is a boon for engineers, accountants, buyers – it doesn’t take much imagination to come up with ways they can earn their bonuses. But what about the file clerks, secretaries, data entry folks, receptionists, shipping clerks, computer techs, etc.?

I think it sucks, and I don’t think it’s a “bold new management technique” that other companies are using (like our manager says). But I could be wrong.

Am I? Are other companies doing this?

2

I have a union job, and yes, there are regular raises where I work. But we are not rewarded for meritorious work, which does not bother me. Because if I had a choice between raises based on merit, or just mandatory raises, I prefer the latter.

3

Oh, it’s preview – sorry about the extra italics.

4

Thanks vandal – that was gonna be my second question: How would you feel about working where there was an opportunity for a possibly huge bonus in your future, as opposed to being guaranteed a smaller but regular increase?

And would it make any difference if you received a bonus (albeit deserved) while co-workers who worked just as hard as you were getting nothing?

5

Here we get a $.25 raise for every year that we are here. I would also prefer an annual raise over one based on merit.

I feel this way because the way my job is. I work security. My supervisor works 0800-1600 with another gaurd. Another gaurd and myself work from 1600-2400. And another two gaurd shift from 0000-0800. So the only time I am even around my boss is about 15 minutes a day when I get to work.

I know that if raises were based on merit, this place would be subject to work place violence very soon. Recently my boss was authourized to give “Employee of The Month” awards. So what does he do? He gives the first to the newest employee, with whom he works on Fridays. Then he gives it to a longtime co-worker that he has worked with at other sites, with whom he * also * works with during the day. Then he gives it to the third and last employee that he works dayshift with. If you worked here the pattern would be more clear. He isn’t awarding on merit, he is just returning favores and making those around him appriciate him more. :mad:

I know this type of managment isn’t isolated to my job.

6

Welp, as a civilian in a military installation, we basically get the standard government pay scale, which I basically understand is a step increase (small raise) every year. My term position (for now) calls for a promotion from a GS-7 to a GS-9 this year (about $6K). This is instead of the step increase. Also, this year at least, we got the across the board cost-of-living increase (military as well). Lastly, we also get our yearly evaluations, which are based on merit.

Flame away. :smiley:

7

Check out my profile, man! I have to tell you, private security sucks, big time. Get your ass to the nearest “State of California” building and inquire about security positions. In Illinois, where I live, the positions are tiered, depending on where one is stationed. I work at a mental health facility and, therefore, work extensively with people. I have a very good union (Illinois Federation of Teachers), and yearly step raises. I have pretty much maxed out on those, though, and am now receiving COLAs, only.

I would love to be able to get merit raises–I receive very good feedback from those I work with and have gotten commendations (vanishingly rare, btw, where I work). BUUUT…I will willingly forgo the merit crap in favor of a good salary. The issue of favoritism in state employment is the reason why our union won’t allow merit raises.

8

I work for a local government agency and get an annual COLA (which everyone gets) and merit raise, which is basically a pass-fail system. If you pass (and you have to be pretty bad not to), you get the same as anyone else.

The bonus system is crap. Of course it’s better to get a permanent raise. A COLA recognizes that EVERY employee, regardless of level of performance, is affected by
incrases in the COL. We have union and non-union people too, and the agency tries to give as much to the non-union people, knowing there’ll be a lot of unhappy folks if they don’t. The job market is too good for your company to be jerking you around like that when they’re doing well. Some well-placed gossip about job hunting might help.

9

I only started getting decent raises since I switched to a union job.

10

What kind of jobs are you talking about. I am not sure what a “State of California” building is or what its purpose is and I have no idea where to find one, and yes I will look in the phone book. What exactly would a “State of California” employee expect to gaurd?

11

In response to the OP I wouldn’t really know about raises. Given the market in Northern VA right now I haven’t stayed anyplace long enough to really be considered. 9 years 6 jobs. And I’m close to tripling my salary in 6 years.

Party on Wayne.

12

This seems to be how my career is shaping up lately, too. After 8 years in a union job, I moved to the computer industry, where the biggest raise seems to come from changing companies regularly. It seems like the pattern is something like a 50% raise each time I change.

My take on union work:
I worked in a union grocery store. For the first several years there, I worked my way up the ladder, until finally, about 5 years in, I reached the top of the scale (and finally made full time). Thereafter, even though I had steadily increasing responsibility, I was given only an incremental yearly raise – not even enough to keep up with inflation. Effectively, I was being penalized for being a long-term employee. In my climb up the ladder, I was positioned to move up a notch (with a $1/hour raise) within two or three years, then to a salaried management position within another 5-8 years. Strangely, though, the salaried position would effectively pay LESS than the position before it.

It seems to me that unions are great for the average worker, but not so good for anybody who’s trying to work up through the ranks. Aspiration is punished. The one who makes out the best is the one who comes to work on time each day, does the job, and goes home without thought for anything other than a paycheck.

Lowest common denominator, baby.

13

In my company we get a bonus and a pay rise every year . We’ve no union .
The bonus is a set figure for everyone eg. this year it was 10% of your yearly salary . This percentage is based on how the company has done the previous year.
The pay rise is decided by your manager and depends on your work / attendence / atitutde etc . It usually works out to about 5-8% .
I agree with Jo3sh the best way to get a very substantial raise is to move to another company but this only really holds true to skilled workers . People like general operatives for example get payed pretty much the same amount throughout the tech. industry.

14

My last job of nine years was 100% commission. It was a sweatshop if ever there was one. In all of that time there was not one single bonus or raise. The company’s position was that you were supposed to get better and faster as the years went on & therefore you would earn more as your production increased.

Right :rolleyes:

Now I’m unionfied and I have to say I like it a lot. They hired me at the top of the pay scale, so I can’t get any more raises unless the union wins a better contract (which is scheduled to happen this Fall, so don’t be alarmed if your T3 & OC data lines go dead for a few days). Guys who aren’t maxed-out get raises every six months of anywhere from $47-$104 per week, depending on length of service (if you’ve been there longer you get a bigger raise). I don’t much mind, because I consider this a generous salary even for DC. Additionally, one of the union perks is free health, dental & legal consultation, so I’ll never have to pay for that. There is a bonus arrangement, but I haven’t been here long enough to get it. I hear from my coworkers that the size of the bonus depends on seniority, and my friend’s bonus was about equal to one week’s pay (he’s been there for about 18 months). Having never received a bonus before, I’m not sure if that’s good or not.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever want to be promoted to a management position. Even though it means a 15-20% pay increase, managers aren’t unionized & have to pay for their own bennies. I also see the constant headaches they have to deal with every day- upset clients who want to speak to “The Manager”, and so on. They are in the office every morning before I get there and stay after I leave.

The only sour part of union workers is that there are a few who goof off and can rest assured that they can’t really be reprimanded. They can be assured of getting the same union goodies that the rest of us who pick up the slack get.

It sounds like the area you live in is part of the problem- you say you’d have to reloacte (is that really out of the question?) to do any better. That’s unfortunate; I have a friend in IL who’s skills are in demand, just not in her particular area. If she came to DC (or any major metro), she’d be in fat city.

15

Relocating is always a possibility, or a longer commute.

I don’t feel I’m underpaid, and the bennies are good. (So kwitcherbitchin, you could say.) My dissatisfaction is more because of the unfairness of the bonus plan.

We change managers as often as socks, it seems, and I’m afraid that we’ll start losing good people because of this new plan. The plant nurse gave notice Thursday, and although the new plan wasn’t the only factor, she says it was the proverbial straw.

A few months from now, we’ll have another new manager, and we’ll go back to the old way of doing raises, but it’ll be too late.

I’m not surprised at the responses to the OP. (And thank you, everyone.) So far, although the sample is small and unscientific, to say the least, it seems my manager is indeed “leading the pack” with this bonus thing. Right over a cliff, I think.

16

auntiepam,

I had been in a pay freeze job for 3 years. No raises and no hope of raises on any sort in the future. The situation you describe has been going on in america for about the past 20 years. The bottom 80% of wage earners are now making less than they were (inflation adjusted) than in 1970. The top 20% is making more and the top 1% (the ceos) are making lots more. I’m wondering where you’ve been working to have not noticed this before now.

michael

17

labdude – you’re in worse shape than I am!

Well, “where I’ve been working” is a company that predicts a $16 million profit this year (just where I work, not the entire conglomerate, which is worldwide and probably makes billions). We’ve had a 10% increase in market share in a little over two years.

So it’s not like the company can’t afford raises – they’ve just decided not to apportion them equally, across the board.

Are you saying your situation is common? Everyone I know (well, everyone I’m comfortable enough to discuss money with) has had at least a small increase every year.

Damn! Now I’m gonna worry about you. Nobody should work for three years without a raise.

18

labdude has it worse than me but I just wanted to pipe in and say I work for a hospital that is part of a group of hospitals (4-5 in all) and all hourly employees get the same raise across the board. Of course, if you’re a complete dork and don’t earn it, you get nothing. Anyway, last years’ across-the-board raise was 1.5% of your salary. That sucks when you make $30-35,000 a year but it really sucks when you make $6.50/hour.

We do have a small bonus system in place. Every employee is required to submit 6 ideas per year on how the hospital can function better, provide better service &/or save money. The plan is that you get a bonus–the percentage depends on how many (if any) of your ideas are actually implemented. Last year, the hospitals didn’t make enough money for them to pay out. This year doesn’t look good either. However, we still have to submit ideas.

19

To clarify a few points—

I work in a hospital. THe colledge educated emploies have it much better than the non-educated empolies. The non-educated personell often have to work relief for years with no benefits. The way the hospital can save money by not suppling people with health insurance!!!

michael

ps
I’m not stupid I just can’t type.

20

I used to work in a hospital as an electrical engineer which meant looking after the fire alarms, laundry machines environmental monitoring, air con, HV generation and switch gear, sterilising and incineration plant as well as all the usual domestic electrical supplies.A right mix of heavy duty power and electronics.

I got pretty sick of working for managers in my field with fewer qualifications and less experience but the thing that finally caused me to quit was that they did several dangerous practices which if they ever went wrong would certaily have sent people to prison.
The problem was that these people supervised hired and monitored each other and no-one was about to rock the boat.
There were only the regular COLA rises promotion was a distant prospect.
Since I left they have got rid of a goodly number of these managers.

Now I work in a jail as a workshop supervisor/instructor.
They have a system of incremental rises but when you get to the top of your scale then it is COLA only.
There is a bonus scheme where staff suggest, plan,and implement various schemes such as drug rehab but, to be honest, the work you have to put in, sometimes two or three years of working in your own time, compared to the rewards, a certificate and up to $400 total it just is not worth it.

I don’t use the skill I developed over 20 years but I don’t care as I get 35% more yet I work fewer hours and have paid sick (which I hardly use but can be 18 months on full pay) 30 days hols paid, pension inflation proofed from age 60 and the chance to work with some testing but interesting people.

The only thing I can say thruogh experience is be prepared to walk away and be adventurous. I never imagined I’d do anything but be a technician but I changed horses and don’t regret it at all.

BTW I gather that working in US jails is a rather differant proposition altogether.