# I just got my raise (aka a slap in the face) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 24, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640 "2008-07-24T18:44:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/21 "2008-07-24T20:55:29Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] I got a $40/check raise and I was quite happy with it… but then it’s probably a much bigger percentage raise for me. Hang in there. [/QUOTE] That’s what I got, which was better than the average raise people have been reporting around here, and certainly better than what I got last year. It’s still not enough for what I’ve done in the last year. It’s waaaaay better than my boss’s raise, which was NOTHING. And she did ten times the hard work and sacrifice I did. She’s taking that fight to HR. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/22 "2008-07-24T21:01:34Z")
My raise was 3% which nets to about $80 a month more. I’m fine with it because even though I work long days, weekends, etc., the base rate was 2.5% and this was considered above and beyond performance. The part that bugged me was the review. The boss was to use a grading system that included M=meets expectations and E=exceeds expectations. So I got either an M or an…M+ 😕 Couldn’t she just make it an E ? I love my boss and she’s very good to me but that one left me confused. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/23 "2008-07-24T21:12:42Z")
The only real way to effectively get better pay is to change companies and negotiate your best deal on the way in. In general once you are an employee, the company considers you to be “sunk cost” and wants to limit increasing the “burden” of your salary. You have little leverage as an employee in that situation except to go elsewhere. A good manager understands the need to prevent key people from doing that & take steps to get appropriate increases for them. A bad manager doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/24 "2008-07-24T21:25:43Z")
[QUOTE=ASAKMOTSD] A good manager understands the need to prevent key people from doing that & take steps to get appropriate increases for them. A bad manager doesn’t. [/QUOTE] That said, a smart manager knows most of his staff aren’t going anywhere as long as he does just enough to keep their from quitting… ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/25 "2008-07-24T21:26:27Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] $40 per what? [/QUOTE] Per 2 week period. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/26 "2008-07-24T21:44:08Z")
I got a $40 per check raise this month. It’s better than nothing. The people at the State Library were lucky to get 1%. We got 5% and I’m glad to get it. (I mean, I’d like more, please. But I’m not looking that 40 bucks in the mouth.) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/27 "2008-07-24T21:48:20Z")
[QUOTE=Kinthalis] 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. I feel sick. [/QUOTE] I’ll take that insult & be grateful. The promised pay raise for TN State Employees has been canceled. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/28 "2008-07-24T22:02:00Z")
[QUOTE=Kinthalis] Per 2 week period. [/QUOTE] That sucks for taking on new responsibilities, but it at least is a $1,000 a year. I’ve seen worse. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/29 "2008-07-25T00:03:02Z")
Right now you’re doing supervisor-level work while being paid at peon-level rates. For the company, that’s a good thing. What happened when the supervisor left? Does the company think it has a vacancy it needs to fill? Or did it eliminate the position? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/30 "2008-07-25T00:35:18Z")
[QUOTE=Kinthalis] 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. [/QUOTE] Does your management seem to appreciate what you are doing (besides the crappy raise, I mean?) Promotions sometimes take a while. In some places, promotions come with automatic raises. If your place is like that, they may be thinking that the raise you get for the promotion will make you happy, so they want to save money for other people who won’t be getting promoted. Don’t yell at anyone. Just say “I know you can’t promise anything, but is there a chance that I’ll be made permanent in this position?” if they say they’re definitely thinking about it, you’re good. if they say no, or if they promote you with no more money, you might want to brush off your resume. You might check the salary administration policies also. I was in a giant company, and they were complicated but basically fair. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/31 "2008-07-25T01:13:07Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] The part that bugged me was the review. The boss was to use a grading system that included M=meets expectations and E=exceeds expectations. So I got either an M or an…M+ 😕 Couldn’t she just make it an E ? I love my boss and she’s very good to me but that one left me confused. [/QUOTE] Oh, God. I think we have the same system as you do, where I work. The hidden little kicker is that only 10% of employees are “allowed” to get an E. Also, 10% of employees are expected to get a D (= does not meet expectations). Yes, their _goal_ is to have one in ten of their employees be worthless, and _no more_ than one in ten be excellent. Idiots. Furthermore, they allocate those scarce E’s by department and paygrade… and if there are not ten of your paygrade in your department, you get lumped in with _other_ departments. And maybe it is another department’s “turn” to get the E this year. So it is _not possible_ for you to be an exceptional employee that year. Maybe next year. Ha-ha, what fun. Even better, though: the M+'s must be balanced by an equal number of M-'s… and the raises _above_ standard must be balanced by an equal number of raises _below_ standard whose total negative contribution to the department’s allocated raises exactly balances the total positive contributions of the M+'s. I don’t think I’ve ever worked someplace with a system that is better designed to disincentivize\* good performance. Asstastic. - sorry, buzz word, but applicable here. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/32 "2008-07-25T01:39:26Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] That said, a smart manager knows most of his staff aren’t going anywhere as long as he does just enough to keep their from quitting… [/QUOTE] That would be one aspect of the art. ---
**Author:** ![miamouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@miamouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miamouse)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/33 "2008-07-25T01:42:03Z")
**gigi** , I’m seconding what **lightray** says about grading guidelines. I’ve been at a company that the scoring sections went from 1 to 5, but they basically weren’t allowed to have anyone’s total average score be above a 4. They also gave each manager 3% of their groups salaries for that years raises. A lower salaried employee might get more than 3% but it was doubtful because for every thousand dollars the manager saved the company, they got a percentage at the end of the year. Same company also believed in giving someone the work of the promotion to prove that they could handle the work involved. I believed them too, until somebody wanted to get their friend hired and needed a bigger salary to accept. Guess what happened to my promotion? :smack: Be tactful, but be the squeaky wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/34 "2008-07-25T15:11:43Z")
[QUOTE=Lightray] \ I don’t think I’ve ever worked someplace with a system that is better designed to disincentivize\* good performance. Asstastic. - sorry, buzz word, but applicable here. [/QUOTE] That would incentivize me, alright - to find every single way I could cut corners and goof off without getting caught. If companies won’t pay you what you should be getting, you just have to make sure that your hourly pay matches how much work you actually do in an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/35 "2008-07-25T15:18:27Z")
My raise was very r0und, and sometimes depicted with a line through it. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/36 "2008-07-25T15:58:01Z")
If it makes you feel any better I have my performance evaluation today and I am pretty sure I am getting fired. I’m cool with that though because I have known it was coming. They told me a little over a month ago they were going to fire me because I don’t fit in with the corporate culture here and they just never got around to it. Besides, this will make it much easier for me to get to my interviews on Monday and Tuesday of next week. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/37 "2008-07-25T15:58:06Z")
The last two years, the average raise at my firm actually worked out to be a negative. They decided in 2006 to start requiring employee contribution to health insurance for the first time (prior to that, our crappy, 40% below market salaries were partially justified by the fact that we paid not a cent for our benefits). So we all got to start contributing or go insurance-free. The raises at start of 2007 amounted to, on average, less per week than our contribution amount. At start of year 2008, our contribution amount went up - in most cases our raise was less than the increase in contribution amount. In rare cases it was _equal_. So our best case scenario over the last two years was to _break even_ on our raise. Turnover rate for support staff has quintupled in the last 24 months. The management can’t figure out why. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/38 "2008-07-25T15:58:05Z")
On my evaluations, the best you can do is satisfactory. Because they don’t want you to rest on your laurels, you see. When I was still on probation, the best you could get was, are you ready for this? I mean, this is beyond belief. The top score was “Average”. Think about that mathematically, socially, however you like. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/39 "2008-07-25T16:35:52Z")
[QUOTE=Lightray] Oh, God. I think we have the same system as you do, where I work. The hidden little kicker is that only 10% of employees are “allowed” to get an E. Also, 10% of employees are expected to get a D (= does not meet expectations). Yes, their _goal_ is to have one in ten of their employees be worthless, and _no more_ than one in ten be excellent. Idiots. [/quote] This is pretty common these days, though the lower level is usually 5%. The theory is that there is a Gaussian distribution of employees, and you should push out the bottom, give lots of money to the top, and the middle can suck it. Better places don’t enforce the bottom ratio after a layoff, worse places just talk about raising the bar. I was at one place where we spent most of our rating time finding the sacrificial lamb for the bottom position. I started working on my resume soon after this meeting. > [@](#): > > Furthermore, they allocate those scarce E’s by department and paygrade… and if there are not ten of your paygrade in your department, you get lumped in with _other_ departments. And maybe it is another department’s “turn” to get the E this year. So it is _not possible_ for you to be an exceptional employee that year. Maybe next year. Would you rather the people in higher grades always get the big raises? Often you need a high ranking to get promoted. If senior people in high paygrades always get them, the lower people will never get the ranking needed for a promotion. As for combining, the whole system depends on the distribution, so that makes sense. Taking turns means that the manager is a chicken shit, though. We used to rank on our department, of about 50 - 60 people, and then at the Lab level, a few hundred. Comparing chemists and computer scientists was real fun, and I found that you always want to give a reasonable raise to the guy who is in charge of the poison gas needed for some labs. > [@](#): > > Ha-ha, what fun. Even better, though: the M+'s must be balanced by an equal number of M-'s… and the raises _above_ standard must be balanced by an equal number of raises _below_ standard whose total negative contribution to the department’s allocated raises exactly balances the total positive contributions of the M+'s. So? If you don’t do this, where do you think the money is going to come from? While you can give every person an E, you can’t give every person a raise above the allocation. What we did was have a spread sheet, and use it to give people raises based on a couple of criteria. First, you want to give the real high performers a good bit of money. Second, you want to have targets so that people who are underpaid for some reason are moving to their right level, though it might take a few years to get there. Third, you don’t want to insult people with a $5 raise. Finally, you want to send a message to those who you wouldn’t mind leaving. We had it easy because we re-orged so often that you never knew if the guy you were screwing this year would be working for you next year, so all the managers were reasonably fair. > [@](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever worked someplace with a system that is better designed to disincentivize\* good performance. Asstastic. > > - sorry, buzz word, but applicable here. I talked to a Harvard Business School Prof on this subject. He had done extensive consulting on these issues at many companies, and he never found anyone happy with it. Do you have a system that will be perfect? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640/40 "2008-07-25T16:45:25Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] On my evaluations, the best you can do is satisfactory. Because they don’t want you to rest on your laurels, you see. When I was still on probation, the best you could get was, are you ready for this? I mean, this is beyond belief. The top score was “Average”. Think about that mathematically, socially, however you like. [/QUOTE] Does your boss have pointy hair by any chance? Because that is about the stupidest policy I’ve ever heard of. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-my-raise-aka-a-slap-in-the-face/457640.md?page=3)