In late 2021, I left a steady corporate healthcare job to help open a new specialty hospital. I took a small pay cut to do so, as I truly believed in the idea of this new hospital. They brought me up to my previous pay within six months, with a promise to increase my pay once I finished school and got my certification.
In the meantime, we have been chronically understaffed while expecting to keep up a full work load. We all see how much the hospital brings in for each case, and we all take on duties and responsibilities well above and beyond what is required of us. The owners are really great about giving us the space to do our jobs, and making sure we have all the equipment and supplies to do our jobs well. It’s a super fun team and we always feel appreciated.
Fast forward to reviews this year. My review was the only one that was rescheduled (because the owners had to deal with personal issues, I was fairly upset about that). My review was full of praise and I was told how they view me as another owner because of how much I helped start and build the practice, and how much I am valued there. Then the talk about pay. They offered me a dollar less than the high end of a non-certified employee, and I am now certified. I countered with a much higher number, which was supported by the current market for someone with my experience, the increases to cost of living and inflation, and everything else I bring to the hospital.
The air left the room immediately. No counter offer. Just the classic small business bullshit about why paying me that would sink their business and how they took a pay cut to open the practice. They said I’d get the raise they offered me and we’d talk in a few weeks.
A few weeks later, no raise on my paycheck, and they ask for a meeting. They start by saying how upset they were, and how me asking for that raise was not the person they’ve come to know. Continued bullshit about how that pay is too high. They told me they were confident I could command that pay rate elsewhere, but I’d never get it here. They then started to list all the reasons they think I do not deserve that pay. I asked why these criticisms were not brought up during my review. They said that they don’t want to run a business like that, constantly nit-picking their employees. I told them there is no way for someone to improve without constructive criticism, but they seemed to not care. They did increase the raise they are supposedly giving me, but not by much.
So now I’m actively interviewing for jobs that pay well above the raise I asked for. Seems they may be even more short staffed than before pretty soon.
Should I have asked for less? Should I accept the raise they’re giving me and stay? The culture is good. Coworkers are amazing. The job is fulfilling and we’re given the room to do it our way. But the owners take business time for personal stuff. They hire their children for jobs that should go to far more qualified people. They take advantage of our labor to make money for their business, and when they raise prices, our wages stay stagnant.
I have chances to further my career and pay scale, but it probably means a culture shift into far more scrutiny by employers. Advice?