I had my annual review a couple of weeks back. My boss gave me nothing but glowing praise. Everyone agrees my work is fantastic. But what I've learned is words are free. I can't pay my rent in compliments.
My contract is up in six months, and I've repeatedly raised the issue of pay, which all my bosses know is a problem, but nobody seems to want to fix. They'll say they want to, but in the end, excuses and fingers pointed at corporate stall any progress I make.
So my boss asks me during my last review: “What can I do to make you happier?”
I tell her that I really need more money. My rent has increased, and living in the city I work in just isn't working out with my wife and I both working full-time for a one-bedroom apartment.
Well, she can't do anything about pay. So is there anything else, she asks. I tell her I've looked through the scheduling and would like to shift from five eight-hour days a week to four ten-hour days a week.
“Corporate looked into that, and it doesn't work” was all she said.
Is there anything else?
Sure, I'd love to work from home more. Currently, I work from home one day a week. I'd like to raise that to three days a week. Well, they can't do that either.
What else is there, she asked.
I told her that was all I wanted. I've pestered her for more money, her boss, her boss' boss, and a vice president at corporate. It all fell on deaf ears.
“We know it's a problem, and it keeps me up at night,” the VP told me.
All very polite. All complimentary. But again, words are free. You can say anything.
So, I'm interviewing for other jobs because this just isn't tenable. You can't underpay a worker for two years and expect any loyalty. And when I leave, I know my job will sit vacant for months because the last two people on my team that quit took months to replace. We lost productivity. Corporate refused to offer more money. And we had to hire two (very kind) people right out of college. Because they were the only ones who would take such a low salary.
Bottom line, I've taken the words of Jack and Gibbs to heart.
“Take what you can. Give nothing back.”