It’s that time of year kiddies, when management reduces your blood, sweat and tears into some basic formula that decides your “worth” to the company.
This year I’ve taken over all of the duties of my supervisor (and more) after he left the company due to personal problems (and the fact that the company sucks). I’ve trained people, learned and got good at a lot of stuff my supervisor had previously been in charge of. I’ve worked weekends, nights, and even through my sick days (had to cancel a doctor’s appointment once because other people screwed up a project and I had to correct it). I also probably made some bad decisions concerning my education in order to be more available for my work.
And what’s my thanks? What amounts to 40 dollars more on my paycheck.
Yeah, I’m also thankful I’m not a starving African youth, or have aids, or haven’t been run over by a drunk driver.
Does that mean no one, anywhere, has the right to feel jaded about anything? Heck the starving african youth shouldn’t complain because god knows he should be thankful that at least he isn’t a jew about to be sent into a concentration camp during WWII. Lucky bastard.
I sympathize. I’ll never forget the job I was lured into with assurances of big bonuses paid to make up for all the unpaid hours/extra work, which was confirmed by the coworkers who’d actually gotten those big bonuses – only to then, at raise/bonus time, receive no raise and a $50 bonus.
I walked out the door on the spot. That was over 20 years ago and I’ve never regretted it. Sometimes no job is better than being treated that badly.
My annual raises generally amount to about 2.5%, which seems to translate to about an extra $35 (net) every two weeks. I can’t complain though, since they’re just cost-of-living raises (though one of my raises, of about the same amount, was entirely gratuitous and occurred between periods). Were I in the same position, taking on much greater responsibility and having my workload double, I’d certainly expect a greater monetary appreciation than the same old same old.
Sorry Leaffan, My sarcasm meter broke when I realized I’m now making 2k more than the new hire, who does 1/10 the amount of work I do, and who has no experience, and probably won’t be able to handle a single project by herself for another 8 months, and who has none of the other responsibilities I have.
I think my spleen might have broke too. And my heart. I think I might be having a heart attack.
If the CEO came face to face with me and called my mother a whore, I think I would have been less insulted.
Is there a way you can discuss this situation? Maybe outline everything you do, and ask why your raise was so low?
On the plus side, you have racked up some considerable experience when it comes time to dust off your resume and find someplace else that is better appreciative.
That’s what I did. I was basically a one-woman operation at my last job, and I knew the trade software we used backwards and forwards. It allowed me to land this job 10 years ago, where I got quite a bit of bump in salary and has less responsibility.
If your supervisor left and you’re now doing his duties, then it seems to me that you should have gotten a promotion and not a raise. You may have maxed out your salary at your current title. I learned a long time ago that no one notices what a good job you’re doing. You have to tell them. Did you talk up your efforts during the discussion?
I hear ya. I’ve been at this a lot longer than you have. (I peeked at your profile.)
I’m making about 25% less now than I was during the high-tech boom 4 or 5 years ago. I guess you learn to roll with the punches as you get older.
If you really believe you’re not being fairly compensated there must be someone to talk to in your company: Manager? HR? Perhaps you should start formulating some thoughts and have a frank discussion: not a bitch session, and not a whiny “woe is me” discussion, but a real toe-to-toe conversation about why you feel underpaid.
A talk with My supervisor and possibly HR is my next step. I’m just too emotional right now to talk to anyone. I’ll let him know that I need to discuss this with him tomorrow. Should give me some time to arrange my thoughts on paper.
Thanks for the sympathy guys, misery loves company I guess.
At the company I’ve worked for in the last 4 1/2 years, I’ve received exactly 1 review, worth a 2% raise. So if you assume a 2% per year cost of living increase, I’m down 6 1/2%. The guy I work for prides himself in how few reviews he gives out, even thought the company is pushing to get reviews done on time.
I just got a new job with a nice healthy pay increase. And instead of jumping up and down all I can think is ‘What’s going to be wrong with this place?’.
One of the things I’ve run into several times is that mythical “pay range” associated with however your position is graded. Like, a level 12 gets $34,000 - 45,000 a year. While you may move somewhat within your pay grade (usually in increments of 2-5%), you don’t see a really significant increase until your position is re-graded.
In your conversation (which I highly recommend scheduling), don’t discuss a raise. Discuss regrading your position to match the expanded duties you’ve taken on.
To prepare for the conversation, ask for the sanctioned guidelines (if they exist) that define what separates one level from another. What you need to do is demonstrate that you are, in fact, a level 14 even though you’re currently graded at a 12. I hope that makes sense.
You will not get what you do not EXPLICITLY ask for in a corporate environment. You may knock yourself out, but they will not notice it until you point it out. And as one last caution, don’t let your exceptional performance become their expected performance. If you regularly work more than 40 hours a week, it will come to be expected that you’ll do so. Don’t let that happen to you.
You have my sincere sympathy, Kinthalis. Being taken for granted and taken advantage of is never a good feeling. I have a magnet on my fridge that says, “Remember - the better you do, the more they’ll expect.” I look at it every day to remind myself that going above and beyond at a job is likely to be rewarded only with more work. Talking to your supervisor tomorrow is probably a good idea - I like Beadalin’s idea of re-visiting your position. They shouldn’t expect you to do two people’s jobs for only slightly more salary. Unfortunately, your company has just told you how much they value you. I’ve give it a try, but I wouldn’t hold out much hope.
$40 per what?
year
monthly
bimonthly
weekly
daily
hourly
I still want to beat somebody over the 5 cent an hour raise. They were super happy with my work, but that’s what they could afford. Then they made the mistake of asking why I bothered them for a lousy quarter there equipment screwed me out of. I told them because that was five hours of my raise before taxes.
This is the same company that wouldn’t let me go home because they needed data and a report so they could get paid for $100,000 to $500,000 of work.