This sounds kind of pathetic, but I am coming here for advice/emotional support regardless. I want to say in advance that I feel small and frustrated and powerless. I'm not necessarily against working, I do think the workweek could be shorter. I say this stuff out of fear that I am somehow identified but this is my honest opinion too.
I have been working at a very successful, billion dollar company for 4 years. When I started out, our section of the company was not very large. We have since grown so much we are probably pulling in so much more profits we were originally judging from how many sales we make (which we kind of disclose publicly so I'm not weary of sharing that).
When I started my job, let's say I was making about 20 an hour. The pay range for this position from recruiters was 19-23 an hour. This was years ago, before all of this inflation this year.
When I had my annual discussion this year I was finally getting a raise. A 75 cent raise.
I thought about it hard, and I realized new employees have to be coming in at a higher pay rate than me. That means not only am I technically making less than when I was originally hired with my current skill set, I am making less than the people I teach how to do my job.
I have put a lot of effort over the years into contributing to the company any way I can in hopes of being noticed. And, I was noticed! Other managers have been reaching out, seeing if they can pull me into their teams. And guess what? So many managers have asked for me (at least a few to my knowledge) that my manager had to be forthcoming that they were not letting me move. The reasoning they gave was that they really need me in my department.
My soul is not being fulfilled and I don't feel I am being treated fairly. The line of work I am in is very taxing on my mental, and these other managers have positions that would be much better for my mental state and overall life. Not only am I not being paired fairly in comparison to new employees (who I think could potentially be getting sign-on bonuses as well judging from my industry) , nothing is being supplied to me on how I can advance in my current role. My manager actually told me I should just do more work than what I am currently doing and maybe I could get something out of it. This really upset me that they made this comment.
If I do work that was originally designated for my manager when I first started this job, and I am teaching people how to do my job, is my skill barrier really that low that I need to be doing more work? Raw numbers are all that matter? I've been busting my rear for years.
I am in a state where I feel I can not really continue to put forth effort in a job that is very taxing on my mental energy (I'm not exactly a social butterfly) and that doesn't seem to respect how long I have been at the company, how much work I have been doing, or how long I have been doing it for.They question why I am not doing as much work since we had this meeting.I can't really tell my managers “not because I am spiteful, I truly wish I could, because you have made me feel depressed and of low worth. I have hit burnout doing the same thing for so long and you won't let me have these fantastic opportunities that await me because you're being restrictive to the point that I feel like I am suffocating”.