I need to vent. This Jan will be 10 years that I've been working in my career. I've worked for 3 different companies during that time and it's been depressing. In that time…
- I've witnessed 7 layoffs of various sizes and departments. Some for “reorganization”, others due to a merger, one due to COVID, and the last was due to a cashflow shortage.
- During COVID I received a 25% pay cut for 4 months. This meant that I was making $100/week more than I would have been making with unemployment. The following 4 months the pay cut was reduced to 12.5%. The explanation was that the company was losing money, so we needed to sacrifice.
- Following COVID, 2021, the company was making RECORD revenues and gross profits. At my annual review I was told that my raise would be 0% due to the company needing to recoup lost money. I left that job 4 months later.
- My new job gave me a 0% raise during my annual review (despite 8% inflation) because of the aforementioned 'cashflow shortage' during the year.
- In general, it's been constant trying to hit quarterly goals with new projects. Even after big successes (millions revenue growth), it's an immediate return to the grind of delivering the next big project.
Is this normal? I feel like I'm living the 'socialize the losses, privatize the gains' mantra every day. My pay is decent compared to the average person, but it feels like I'm creating 10x value to the companies I work within and constantly have to fight for my fair share.