Most people resent a raise lower than 7%, but no Resentment for not getting a raise

[GoodRevrnd]

I think if you're making little money then these small percentage raises can appear insulting. Once you're around the $50k+ area I think anything over 3% is decent. I think a lot of peoples' problems is that companies claim a merit pay increase and the raise doesn't match the amount of praise they've given you or the extra responsibilities you've taken on (whether perceived or actual).

I know at one job I was a little miffed being promoted from a 40 hr/week hourly supervisor to a 50 hr/week manager. My total pay went up but my effective hourly rate went down. Apparently the company didn't like giving raises in excess of 15% for ANY reason (even complete change of job). Fortunately, my district manager did me right and gave me a rapid series of raises every couple of months, but the initial transition was still somewhat aggravating.

Imagine if you were some model employee making an average white collar salary and your superior productivity was rewarded with a 1.5% annual merit pay increase while all the other Joes just doing their jobs meeting the bar receive a "standard" 1% increase. Sure, you received 50% more than them but I think it would be safe to say your reward doesn't adequately reflect the value you add to the company. I realize this example doesn't really reflect the economic reality of *today*, but my point stands.

 

[Patranus]

Yet another reason why jobs are being shipped out of this country.

Entitlement mentality FTW.

 

[child of wonder]

If your skills are in demand why don't you find another place to work?

This. Because I've been willing to expand my skill set to include other hot technologies (I'm a consultant) my company gave me a 16% raise.

Unfortunately, companies like the one I work for are very rare. Most would take the extra revenue I create by working in more areas and keep it for themselves.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

This. Because I've been willing to expand my skill set to include other hot technologies (I'm a consultant) my company gave me a 16% raise.

Unfortunately, companies like the one I work for are very rare. Most would take the extra revenue I create by working in more areas and keep it for themselves.

Exactly. I don't see how anyone can claim this is "entitlement mentality." Entitlement mentality would be doing the exact same thing year in year out and expecting a raise every year just for showing up.

 

[child of wonder]

Exactly. I don't see how anyone can claim this is "entitlement mentality." Entitlement mentality would be doing the exact same thing year in year out and expecting a raise every year just for showing up.

This is why most people who earn high salaries are changing jobs every couple of years. As they grow professionally, a lot of companies try to keep them around for peanuts. Once the employee realizes their true worth and gets another offer, away they go!

 

[hanoverphist]

If your skills are in demand why don't you find another place to work?

ive been offered other jobs, mainly by customers and one almost competitor. i work for family, i have a vested interest in seeing this place succeed. also, the companies i could go work for in my area kind of suck, id not have as much fun if i did that. going to work for a customer also just seems so boring to me, i have a lot of fun with the diversity of my job. its fairly specialized, id hate to stop designing and only maintain one system.

 

[hanoverphist]

Imagine if you were some model employee making an average white collar salary and your superior productivity was rewarded with a 1.5% annual merit pay increase while all the other Joes just doing their jobs meeting the bar receive a "standard" 1% increase. Sure, you received 50% more than them but I think it would be safe to say your reward doesn't adequately reflect the value you add to the company. I realize this example doesn't really reflect the economic reality of *today*, but my point stands.

1% of the regular employees 40k is much lower than 1.5% of a managers 65k. numbers matter too, you cant just look at the basic %. how about a 1.5% across the grade, the low people gain much less than the people at the top of the grade. this is why its always a bad idea to talk to your co-workers about pay amounts. dissidence sucks.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

1% of the regular employees 40k is much lower than 1.5% of a managers 65k. numbers matter too, you cant just look at the basic %. how about a 1.5% across the grade, the low people gain much less than the people at the top of the grade. this is why its always a bad idea to talk to your co-workers about pay amounts. dissidence sucks.

Right, which I sort of covered with the if you make $10/hr and get a 3% raise, whoopdee fuck. But if you and some schmuck started the same job at the same time making the same money and you get 1.5% for your good work and he gets 1% for showing up that's still pretty screwy.

 

[Anarchist420]

LOL - Maybe if our economy was inline with the rest of the world, I would agree. Oh, and health care and a vacation policy!

Oh wait ... Maybe if the US caught up to the rest of the world in the way they treat employees (and no, I'm not talking about treating us like sweat shop workers ...) Unfortunately, the US is nothing like the rest of the world in terms of living (we're too far spread out to increase the cost of living without increasing the means of public transportation) and social or employee morale, see average US vacation of 2 weeks vs. say, Germany with a state mandated 4 weeks minimum and 30 day average per employer.

That's not real wealth. State mandates create an illusion of wealth. Germany's going to crash if they keep doing that. In addition to that, mandated vacation is a regulation, which means that it's pro-business. They would just tax real estate (with a standard exemption) and give that money to the poor if they weren't trying to be pro-business.

One reason people are getting screwed is because of inflation and mandated low interest rates. I can't believe that so many people are dumb enough to believe that wages always go up with inflation. If we were constantly having deflation, then there would be no tension between employees and employers about cost of living increases provided the government didn't prohibit companies from adjusting wages for deflation.

 

[rivan]

We're not the rest of the world, we're not a 3rd world country. I'm sorry, but comparing the US to the rest of the 3rd world is an ignorant way to look at it. Compare us to the rest of those countries within our qualifications.

There's nothing 90% of the people on these boards and 99% of the general US population can do, that someone else in the world would (and could with a little training or the appropriate location) wouldn't, for half the money.

Maybe you can give up your unemployment money to those in need so you can live like the rest of the world?

I've never collected a cent of unemployment, and you seem to be mistaking me for a crusader of some kind. I'm just pointing out what I see happening. Anything and everything that CAN be outsourced WILL be. The only thing keeping me in a job is a sort of critical mass of physical location (and native English). My work getting done by Chinese people wouldn't sell as well to our clients.

We're not going to have a science advantage for very long - we ship every new blueprint to the Chinese for manufacture and I wouldn't be surprised to see knockoffs get manufactured before the real thing at some point.

They've been reverse engineering and outright stealing tech from us for decades, and now they're empowering their workforce with education. And if you don't think an extra billion or three educated workers in the world (between India and China) isn't going to dilute the average US tech worker's worth, then I think you're in for a surprise.

Then again, I might be wrong. I suppose we'll see.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

And if you don't think an extra billion or three educated workers in the world (between India and China) isn't going to dilute the average US tech worker's worth, then I think you're in for a surprise.

Then again, I might be wrong. I suppose we'll see.

Very true, but that's also 3 billion more consumers. It will cause some short term pains (and in some ways already has), but will eventually even out.

 

[Jeff7]

Perhaps you haven't been watching your income stagnate long enough to be sick and fucking tired of that line of reasoning.

It's true, to a point, but the reality is that (class warfare time!) the middle class is disappearing, pushed down by pressures both global and corporate. The twats at the top have to have their golden parachutes and stock options while the people who do the work have to pitch in to 'help keep the ship afloat'.

And their bonuses, can't forget those.

"You helped reduce our costs by lightly screwing a whole lot of other people. Good job!"


Been working nearly 2.5 years now at the same place. One raise in that time. And I've seen some of what we're sending out the door, and I see how our production crew regularly struggles to get things out on time. They still keep saying that we've got to keep pushing so we can get back to profit sharing. They've been saying that for as long as I've been there too. At some point, you just get the idea that it's probably no going to happen.

 

[marvdmartian]

7%? Geez, I wish!

The only time I ever exceeded it was right after I joined the Navy, back in 1980, when Jimmy Carter (in a foolish attempt to bribe the military into voting for him, after he screwed them royally 3 years running, regarding raises) gave us a HUGE raise. Think it was somewhere around 13%.

I have, since then, never seen a raise higher than 4%.....which should be more than enough for anyone.

 

[goobernoodles]

I'm only 25, but besides a .25 cent raise when I was working at a Pizza shop in high school, I've only had raises due to taking on more job responsibilities. I got a ~9% raise for taking on the entire workload of a coworker the company fired while at my last job. I got a 50% raise this spring when my boss left the company for another job and I took over.

IT definitely is a field where you move up by moving on (or someone else does) it seems.

 

[darkxshade]

Why give the entire workforce 7% when you can give the CEO 100%?

 

[pontifex]

pissed at a merit raise? I haven't seen a raise in years, merit or otherwise. I have been thinking about asking my boss about a raise. Every time we have a meeting he mentions how impressed he is with my performance and I just had a performance review (1 year employment as an employee under this company, although I've been doing the same job for almost 3 years under different companies) and he gave me an overall review of "Exceeds expectations" but there was no mention of a raise at all.