Real simple if you can't justify paying more for something from someone else, then you likely won't be able to do it for yourself.
To get a pay raise you need to do something with exceptional performance over and above expectation OR you need to take on task that don't require that to be done by anyone else and enough of them to justify being paid what might otherwise need to be paid to someone else.
Milli Vanilli, Bigger than Elvis
I'd wait for a performance review, make sure I have data to back up my reasoning for a raise, and then unleash the hounds.
I've never felt compelled to ask for a raise, actually. I've been given a raise for my work effort though, which is how I'd like to increase it the next time as well.
I'm guessing that in order to be successful ASKING for a raise, drama works better than logic, since logic wouldn't allow ANYONE to work a full-time job without being paid a living wage.
I, too, have never felt the need to ask for a raise. Money has come to me by recognition from my employer that I was doing a well deserved job. If you've been there a year+ and there hasn't been any additional compensation, then yeah I feel it's time to ask the question why. There has come a time in my career that what I'm making is basically what I'll continue to be making. Pay increases still come, but are minor and I feel I get paid adequately for what I do so I don't push the issue. Any larger pay increases I know will only come with me finding another role with another company and having them pay me more.
Edit: Also, pay is relative to your location. You need to take a look at where you live and what the cost of living is and go from there. It could very well be that you've reached a cap of the salary for your location based on your role and your only hope for more money is to move.
Last edited by Erous; 2019-04-07 at 12:32 AM.
If you feel you are deserving of a raise and can back that up when you talk to your employer, then go for it. Just be prepared to have a case for why you deserve it when you speak with them. Rather than just asking for a raise, though, see if there are positions open or opening within your company that you can try to get. At some point, you’re going to plateau in a position where they can’t realistically give you more raises. Taking a position with more responsibillity resets that ceiling.
I went from an hourly contractor with my last company to a salaried office manager within just a few years by seeing oportunites and going in with evidence of my performance ready. At each position change, I negotiated my salary and made sure it was worth my time to take it. I went from $15 an hour part time to $60,000 salary. Just be ready to show your worth when going to your boss.
Good luck.
It all depends on where you work and what your relationship is like with your superiors. For me, when I asked for a raised I explained how I created x amount of value for the company, and it worked. Sometimes logic can be all you need. It wasn't dramatic at all.
Last edited by Neighbor; 2019-04-09 at 10:32 PM.
I think there's a misunderstanding. There's no problem with asking for a raise, in fact I've given raises to employees both automatically when they've demonstrated exceptional capability in their department, and when they've asked for one reason or another.
What I disagree with is trying to leverage a raise because you have a better job offer. If you have a better job lined up, then give proper notice and make arrangements to start your new job. If you did your job well, I'll provide a good reference for work and may write a letter of recommendation. Transparency between the employer and the employee is critical to a functional business, and if you feel like you can only get a raise by threatening to leave for another company then you probably don't do your job well enough to justify a raise to begin with.
Again this is probably entirely dependent on the line of work that you're in, as well as the kind of leadership your business has.
its illegal for them to fire you for asking for a pay raise so just ask for it
ya, fear of what the boss might do if you ask for more isn't new. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centra...e_(Washington)
Perhaps you should read more, if pointing to hostess is your go to.
If your company is genuinely running on such slim margins it can't afford a pay increase for employees; perhaps the employees should get to look at the books and draw their own conclusions on what the company can and cannot afford. Or you can just close up shop and sell off the assets because the company was just an avenue of making money for the people on top, not actual employment in the traditional sense of "work" or maintaining a business.
Perhaps addressing these foundational problems, rather than shitting on the already underpaid workers more would be a better use of time and company resources.
Last edited by ohtlmtlm; 2019-04-07 at 04:46 AM.
they didn't "start" the business tho, they acquired a brand name and rights to names and specific items and view it, and its employees as such. And then sold it all when they felt it would not be AS profitable to keep the company a float for long term investment, they sold off everything they could and liquidated, paid all the people at the top a handsome fuckyou in the eye payment while the workers got the shaft.
It's a robot that like you say, has one purpose. It's up to the employees to stand up to it.
But it's really not a robot, it's what happens when a few people in a room decide to do what is better for themselves rather than what is better for a company, or a country for that matter as were seeing unfold around most "first" world countries. It's why employees need representation in those board meetings
Last edited by ohtlmtlm; 2019-04-07 at 05:32 AM.
OP, make sure you do ^ after actually talking to them, that is, of course, if you want to keep working there. In my opinion, going to management with an alternative job option on your hand without a prior meeting that you had addressing your monetary concerns is unprofessional.
- - - Updated - - -
If you are underpaid for the work you are doing, you might want to get a bit more than just a raise, more like a salary rearrangement. I am talking about > 30% raises. This may happen without you asking for it, or may not. I wouldn't blame it on "greedy corporate mind" right away as people tend to assume you are perfectly happy, unless you raise your concerns, be it monetary or something else. However, once it is established even by your manager that you outperform or perform similar to seniors, and then you still do not get a compensation for it, that means they are considering you a cheap labor. That's the time to act, imo, not before. I am not saying you shouldn't look for a job beforehand, of course. This is something I have personally experienced.
It all comes down to if you are expendable or not. If you can be replaced by the next random person, chances that you will not get what you want is high.
Last edited by Kuntantee; 2019-04-07 at 04:13 PM.
I have yearly performance meeting with the boss. That's when we discuss my pay. I can ask for a raise. I usually get a raise.
I think employers who don't give a yearly raise can go fuck themselves, because everything goes up in price on a yearly basis. Food, rent, gas, etc.
Although, useless employees shouldn't get a raise, but those who do their job should.
This is what I have found works very well:
First off, do more than is expected of you, and keep track of all the hard work. Make a list of any extra duties you take on, any time you go above what is expected. Next, apply for other jobs, see how much someone else is willing to pay you, or if others are willing to hire you on at the same salary. That will let both you and your boss know that you have options, and that other companies think you may be worth more. With that information in hand, take it to your boss toward the end of a workday. Ask for a raise (don't demand one like an asshole), and give him a day or two to think about it. After a couple days, ask if he's given any thought to your request. If he refuses to give you a raise, or is waffling, then seriously consider working elsewhere. Move forward with interviews with other employers.
Wrong. At least in the setting of a small company (35ish people), I've found myself giving raises to people who performed so well I couldn't afford losing to the competition. Without them having to ask, and with them being quite surprised. I'll admit I tend to do this only with those who are highly specialized and thus would be very hard to replace, but I've done it with an excellent factotum, who never even went to university, but is an excellent and versatile receptionist and "handyman", so while it would be in theory very easy to replace someone whose position requires pretty much no qualifications, I wouldn't want to.
That being said, I already pay all of my employees substantially more than all of the competition. Not because I'm such a wonderful and altruistic person, but because I'm positively convinced that happy employees make for more productive employees, and I also enjoy how the overall atmosphere doesn't reek of people feeling wageslaved, but of satisfaction and accomplishment. And it's an approach that works, because we're the smallest company in our field, and despite that, we secured the most important customers, and get more work than the competition. The only downside is that we get so much work it's pretty much never over, and we can never take a breather nor hire more than the current amount of personnel for legal/taxes reasons, but that's good for business and it's also extremely satisfying to have a literal queue of people from the competition willing to drop them and join us should a position open up.
- - - Updated - - -
This is typically enough for a good employer to take notice and keep track on his own. At least that's how it works for me. Again, this is probably because I can oversee every single employee personally; in a bigger setting (or with less... observant employers) it would probably be best to do as you suggest.