Today is Friday. Payday. I woke up to check that my direct deposit went in, and to my surprise the amount was about $100 more than usual (still not enough to cover the rent due tomorrow without overdrafting).
I thought, “Huh, that's weird. I bet they messed up something in payroll and are going to deduct it from my next check.” So when I got to the office, I logged into the time clock system and saw that my hours for the previous week were correct.
The only other thing it could have been was a raise (and a somewhat decent one at that)!
Excited, I checked my pay rates:
Old – $25.49/hr
New – $26.25/hr (effective 1/30/22, back pay applied retroactively which accounts for the extra $100)
The difference is 3%. THREE FUCKING PERCENT.
With the amount of shit I put up with and the number of fires I put out daily just to keep my department afloat, that number is absolutely insulting.
I'm the breadwinner in a single income household (my wife hasn't been able to find work since her previous employer steadily cut her hours down to literally 5/week and she finally quit). A single paycheck isn't even enough to pay rent. I have to withdraw money at the beginning of every month just to afford food and gas before turning in my rent check and inevitably overdrafting, which cuts into my next check, and then my next, and by the time I'm back in the black it's time to pay rent again.
I couldn't even think about paying back student loans if I wanted to. I can't afford to save up for a deposit and move elsewhere. I can't even afford to do laundry regularly at this point.
And my employer thinks a fucking THREE PERCENT raise is reward enough for shouldering the burden of my inept supervisor, training new coworkers that I swear to god exhibit zero critical thinking skills or even a modicum of short term memory? For managing the three largest and most complex accounts our plant even services? Developing data analysis tools to track and forecast customer demand? Being the only person who understands our shoddy computer system well enough to act as a go-between for our remote IT team and the people on the ground here?
I didn't go out of my way to become all that and more; it just happened naturally because I'm great at what I do. This place is thrown into chaos if I'm out of the office for more than a day. And they think I'm worth only 103%…
I could try switching jobs, but nowhere in the area would compete with even my previous pay of $25.49/hr; and I've got 8 years of experience in my current industry.
I apologize for the novel; this is more of a stream-of-thought vent than a well thought out post. I'm still processing my emotions and the anger is fresh. I'm just so burnt out on life right now. I'm sick of never having the time or money to afford things I enjoy. I'm tired of being one minor crisis away from major financial jeopardy.