I just need to rant and figured this would resonate with some of the members of this community.
Firstly, I want to say that I realize I am very well compensated relative to most workers, and I don't take that for granted. I think everyone, and I mean everyone, should be demanding better compensation. I am appalled at how poorly people are paid in general and I hate how hard it is for people to negotiate appropriate wages for their work.
I really like my job and my coworkers. Every boss I've had at this company has been great. Over the past couple of years, I've managed teams and been in the trenches fighting to win deals that have booked over $275 million of future billable revenue for my company (over the next 5 years). We've added impressive new logos (sales speak for impressive customers we're proud to name-drop). We've by far been the most productive unit at the company revenue-wise by weight. I am as committed as one can be to market economics and freedom, but man do I fucking hate corporate culture, politics, and the venture capital BS the permeates the economy today.
My boss, the other executives, all know and appreciate the value that I bring to the company and I am routinely praised and given “attaboys” in private and in public. The job itself and the people I work with aren't the problem. You know who is?
Fucking Human Resources. These scum-sucking, worthless morons who exist only to limit company liability and protect downside related to malpractice are fucking us all around, myself, our individual contributors, and all of the management. Our private equity owners are tight-fisted assholes who've closed all purse strings and are causing serious brain drain with people beginning to leave.
I don't want to get into too specific details as my work situation is fairly unique (I've changed some numbers a bit) and I could be identified by giving too much detail, but here's a high level summary of how these people are making life incredibly difficult for myself and everyone else at our company.
Here's how HR is fucking us around. I received only a 3.5% increase, which was the first I've received since starting to work for this company. Told that I should be thankful that I even got 3.5% as that was the highest percentage increase that was approved across the company for the highest performers. Some of the poor schlubs working in other departments got less, or nothing! With inflation, this amounts to a 5% pay reduction, instead of a 9% pay reduction. Gee, thanks Human Resources.
Due to technical factors where we had to change parts of my job contract to accommodate the 3.5% increase, HR very pleasantly and gladly submitted an addendum that resulted in my overall compensation actually being LESS than it was before the 3.5% “increase” – and of course being the dumb dumbs they are, they came back with “what, why aren't you happy with the raise? Why won't you sign this?” – because you're actually paying me less than you were before both in nominal and real terms, you utterly contemptible assholes!! I got it straightened out, but it took a lot of maneuvering and threats after politely explaining their fuckup yielded no results.
My boss is totally on my side and we hatched a scheme to actually get me a raise that is appropriate for what we've accomplished in the last few years. A change of title and a rehire at a new salary. It's clever and it's probably going to work. But guess who has been fighting us for months about this? That's right, it's HR. “If we do this, everyone will want to do it and it isn't fair to the rest of the company” – “we can't find the budget for this.” Bullshit, pay us all what we are worth you assholes. It's not my problem. I work with the executives, I do budgeting, I know the numbers of how this company operates, and further I KNOW how we roll over for our customers on contracts and numbers all the time. The amount that I'm asking for an increase is a goddamn rounding error in the grand scheme of things and we routinely cough up 10x what I'm asking for in incentives just to win deals with our customers.
Fuck you, HR. I've directly contributed long hours and my teams have busted ass to book this much revenue, and you're telling me the company can't rearrange some of the operating budget to pay us a bit more? I'm not even being greedy, my boss and I submitted a package that would only bring me up to the regional AVERAGE compensation for my position. I am underpaid relative to my industry and certainly for my performance.
Pay me, pay my team, pay everyone what we deserve. Pay people what they need to survive. Pay across the western world has never been lower on a real basis and inflation is beginning to kill everyone. Fuck HR, fuck private equity. White collar workers need to realize that they are in the exact same boat as everyone else.
Thank you for attending my TEDx talk.