I'll start by saying there's a lot more to this story than what's worth typing out. I'll try to keep it short, and include as much relevant information as possible.
Let me start by saying I love (or used to love) my place of work. The environment, people i work with, and the fact that its an office job, is something I've never had. It's a small business, so the call center was only me and 2 other girls when i was hired (aside from my boss, of course).
My boss stepped down from the call center to become GM, and promoted my coworker to his old job. The other call center rep left a few months after with a better job offer. This effectively left me as the one and only appointment setter, and my coworker as the manager since November of last year.
The increase in my work was intense. I stuck it out, partly because my coworker/new manager is one of my best friends. I knew quitting would leave her in an even worse hell than I was in. However, i couldn't look past effectively doing the work of 3 people.
My job was very laid back when I started. Things have changed. If we leave early, we still have to answer phone calls, off the clock, until closing. We constantly have to work despite how sick we may be. When the 2 of us caught covid a few months back, we had to work from home because there was literally no one else who could do our jobs.
My boss began pushing my newly promoted coworker to hire a new employee. Despite how proud we are to be the working class with power, I think we all understand the struggle of being understaffed. We've hired 3 people. All of them left within a month. Our current hire has been with us just under one.
I spoke with my boss about my issues, and he gave me $1.50 raise “just for sticking it out this long”. I still enjoyed my job, and it was technically a raise, so i accepted.
Since getting my new raise, my boss decided it was enough to merit me being a supervisor. Then came more responsibility. I learned how to do more of my coworker/manager's job, I'm responsible for training all new hires, and I'm still expected to juggle setting appointments for our 6 sales reps. My boss is still dead set on keeping our wages the same. He says he's not “buying into the bullshit that employees think they're worth 50$ an hour.” He doesn't plan to increase hourly wages until next year. When next year comes he'll “go from there”.
I'm a bus employee. If i get hit by a bus tomorrow, no appointments get set, our reps don't run, and the company doesn't make money. Im overworked, underpaid, and have the experience to get a similar job, so I've been considering leaving. This would put my friend I've known my whole life in an extremely uncomfortable situation. As awful as it is right now, I still see this as the best job I've ever had. The devil you know is better than the devil you don't. Im worried im leaving a good thing for something worse. I also do genuinely care for the people I work with, and would feel pretty terrible doing this to them, knowing how impossible it would be to fill my spot in the current market.
I would stay, if they offered me an acceptable wage. Is there a way for me to get one without essentially blackmailing my employer? Any advice or words of wisdom would mean the world to me right now.
Thank you in advance.