I've worked full-time for the same institution for seven years and i've never had a raise/promotion. after taxes and whatever other deductions from my pay, my salary is around 32k/year. i said after taxes because that is really what matters to me. that's about $15-16/hour.
i was married when i first got this job, but i've since divorced. i have two young children with my ex wife. i am single and live alone, in an apartment that i rent. i do not make enough money to sustain even the most basic lifestyle. for the last 3 years, i've been working a second job, part-time, at a grocery store. between both jobs, i'm working about 62 hours a week. i am still very much struggling to make ends meet, and i live paycheck to paycheck, and sometimes things get so tight that i need to borrow money from my parents. i am 35 years old by the way.
a few weeks ago, i had an anxiety attack directly triggered by my dire financial situation, in the middle of the work day, and i got up and walked out and got in my car and drove home, without saying a word to any of my coworkers. i work in an office. when i got home i texted my immediate supervisor and briefly explained to him what was going on, and that i would not be back that day.
he wasn't angry or anything, but he was concerned, so he set up a lunch meeting for the following week. the invitees were me, him, and the head of our department. i have a good relationship with both of them, and i feel that they genuinely value me as a member of the team.
lunch meeting comes and we go out to a restaurant and i just laid it all out. i told them i wasn't being paid fairly, that i was making poverty wages, that i was exhausted and totally depressed and that i desperately needed a raise. i said a lot more, and i was very candid, but that is the gist of what i said. they were very understanding. they asked me how much of a raise i had in mind. i said 36%. they didn't give me any indication that they thought that was unreasonable, and they assured me that they had my back and would do everything they could to get me a raise.
department head had a meeting with head of HR this past monday. today, he asked me to go grab a coffee with him around the corner. to be honest, i didn't expect to be told i was getting the raise i asked for. my brain tends not to think positively. i've been told i'm a bit pessimistic. and as any pessimist would retort, i'm a realist. i was, however, expecting maybe a counter offer. or s o m e t h i n g.
what i got was a single sheet of paper. the insurance company my employer uses for health insurance “benefits” has a thing called “Life Assistance Program”. basically if i made some calls and filled out some paper work i could potentially get free therapy, or some shit. tbh i didn't even fucking read it. i told him i was insulted and that this was not a solution to my problem.
needless to say, i'll be quitting as soon as i find another job. but man, fuck work.