I work in self storage as an assistant property manager. A few months ago, I had my property manager talk to our DM (the guy who hired me 7 months ago) about a raise. It was met with a comment about how my generation doesn't even need that much money. What?
Fast forward to this week, and I realized I simply do not make enough money to do the things I want to do, at times I don't even have enough to support myself — luckily I am blessed with a privileged life, and my family is there to help me, but I am trying to do life as independently as possible.
Anyway, here's how it stands.
I make $12/hour base pay. I only work 32 hours a week.
Each paycheck I'll have anywhere from $150-$300 in bonuses.
I also run their social media for an extra wage, which is $160 in total on each paycheck.
My latest paycheck was $897. If you divide that by 64 hours, you get about $14/hour. Woo-hoo. The highest paycheck I have ever received at this job was $960. I haven't even broken $1,000. I also commute to work about 15 miles, which is a lot to handle with gas prices. And, we don't get paid breaks.
Our current revenue is about to hit $800,000 — with 3 months left to go in the year, at a facility that has TWO employees. I know damn well we have the funds to give everyone raises (we have three other locations, all of which are also very profitable).
I did some research on other self-storage companies, and in my region, like 99% of them pay $15/hour base pay, AND bonuses. Bam — I have ammo.
So, I brought it up again. And on my day off today, they had a discussion.
I was sent a text from my manager with an explanation of how much money I really make. He decided to add all hours I've worked throughout the year, the bonuses I have made, and my social media pay. Then, dividing all that by the total hours, he said I make $18/hour.
First of all; that is before taxes, which isn't the point. How does $18/hour matter before taxes? After taxes, it is closer to $14 or 15. That is what I told my boss, because when you look at my paychecks, that's what you get.
Secondly; the point isn't to argue about how much I actually make. I know what I make, it's my bank account the money goes into. The point is that every other self-storage facility in the area pays more (way more), and I could very easily go to one of those.
I was hoping to give him two options: give me a big raise (to maybe $14/hour base pay), or let me work a full 40 hour week. I guess neither of those are valid.
Instead, the only thing I was offered was proof that I make enough, and that I shouldn't be asking for a raise. I really cannot believe how hard it is to accomplish this in 2022. The storage industry is booming, we are making record numbers, and you still can't help out your employees?
But we did just buy a $30,000 truck for customers to rent and are in the process of spending thousands on new carpet in the office.
Also, bonuses should not count in hourly wages. Bonuses are called bonuses for a reason. If I took out the bonuses I made, I would solely be making $12/hour which is a grand total of $768 per paycheck.
In 2022, I'm astounded that my paychecks are never above $1,000 and that, technically, I'm only making $768 in hourly wages. That is messed up. I think it's time to find another job.