Six months ago, I was promised a raise in 3 months based on my performance. My boss finally decided to give it to me, and he just muttered under his breath he was thinking of a $1.50 raise. This is ridiculous, because I have been promoted to Director in that time (no pay increase), I’m the best Director he’s had, I broke all these records, he loves me, my clients love me, my employees love me.
I’m just so pissed he’s thinking of offering $1.50 after saying my raise would be based on performance. It’s already three months late. How much would my raise be if my performance was shitty? I bet it would be $1.50 anyway. So I’ve learned my lesson not to trust bosses, not to work hard, okay.
Now I’m considering what my options are. He’s going to send an email in a few days just saying what my raise is. What if it’s insultingly low, like $1.50? How do I respond?
Is it a common business thing to respond to a raise offer with a counteroffer? This isn’t a negotiation, it’s an email offer. I’m thinking I could respond with “I appreciate your offer, but I believe my skills and experience are worth more than is reflected in this raise. I enjoy working with you, and I want to be able to do so for a long time, but I need to be compensated fairly. Can we discuss my raise further before the next pay period?” Something like that?
Or, alternatively, am I just in a situation where I’m shit out of luck, and I need to just kiss ass? He does need me; the center runs off of me, and there’s no one to replace me. Like I said, I’m the best director he’s ever had. I have leverage. Maybe it’s that I’m a woman and I’ve just been conditioned to not ask for fair treatment. I deserve more than a $1.50 raise, but I don’t know if I’m in a position to ask for one, and I don’t know how to ask for one if I am in that position.
Are there any business/corporate veterans here who can give me some advice, please?