I have been with my professional services firm as a consultant for four years, and while the work was usually interesting and the office culture was decent, I always felt that the compensation was lacking and below market. I stayed because I was always told that over time my compensation would catch up. That was a lie.
Fast forward to this fall to my annual compensation discussion, where I was notified that the company has experienced record profits. My base salary increase was 3% and variable compensation was 6%, non-negotiable. While this is a slight beat on inflation, it is peanuts relative to what my peers are receiving at other firms and relative to the amount of revenue we generate for the firm.
It was at this time a friend told me about the Antiwork subreddit and started reading stories everywhere about people switching jobs and landing better work, hours, benefits, salaries, etc. for themselves. What amazed me was that this was going on across the job market at every level and industry, it wasn't just a trend in one sector. This motivated me to start looking online for other opportunities and a few months later I found a great opportunity at another company that is offering me an 80% increase in total compensation.
I am grateful to this community for sharing their stories and inspiring people to always look out for themselves. The days of firm loyalty are behind us and everyone should always have an eye on the market for better opportunities. We are in a unique time where the power dynamic is shifting away from large corporations and workers are going to start calling the shots.