Our company’s annual compensation cycle is kicking off where we receive our reviews and find out our bonus and raises. To say I have low expectations is an understatement. Given all of the inflation talk over the last year I put together a simple Excel schedule of my historical comp from 2017 through 2021. I then went to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and adjusted my raises for that year’s official inflation rate. Over the 5 year period from 2017-2021 my total “real” comp increase was .29%. I always felt like I was progressing but guess I was wrong. The point of this post is to vent but also note that most companies do not reward loyalty and in general the only way to receive meaningful raises is to switch jobs. When I plug in my 2022 numbers it will hopefully lead to a larger conversation with the HR overlords, whose goal it is to squeeze the most work out of employees while paying the minimum.