Rant/Advice
My company does yearly raises without any sort of yearly review, so they just hit you with whatever pay the manager “feels” is best. My manager literally told me the whole process, and it’s solely up to the individual managers. It isn’t based off merit, or discussed amongst any other managers (we have at least 2 managers per district/area, so I don’t technically have only one boss/manager). We are a fairly larger company that makes hundreds of millions each year. I was told I was getting a 3% raise (which was the same as last year, and didn’t fuss because it was my first raise at this company), and to my surprise it ended up being 4%. I was a little (heavy emphasis on a little” lol) excited until I did the math to realize it’s a whole whopping $1 raise.. Even after being all talked up “Everyone has only nice things to say about you. You’re a team player. Upper management has their eye on you (in a good way) etc. etc.”
How do I even start the conversation of pay when my manager already told me “off the record” that I would be getting the best increase he was allowed to hand out? I’ve been working at the same company for three years, and honestly am the glue to keep this district’s department together. I know if I leave they will suffer (which I look forward to), but I am in no place financially to make any rash decisions and being unemployed). BUT IM MAD. I work my fucking ass off and have a pretty heafty commute only to be slapped in the face with an extra dollar/hr.
What would you do/ how would you handle this situation? I unfortunately melt during any sort of confrontation, so any tips/tricks to keep calm would be appreciated as well. I know we could all use more income always, especially considering the times, but I too am suffering from this inflation as a young adult. I was hoping the raise would help me at least get a hold of the living pay-check to pay-check rut.