I make $21/hr as an entry level office manager. Started at $19 a year ago but was given a raise when they assigned another location to me. I now also do some of an additional locations duties, as well as training for all new operations associates. I also split receptionist duties between two locations. Haven’t seen a raise for any of that yet though. If I’m being honest I’m feeling a little burnt out and over it lately.
Today there was an argument between an exempt employee who works only on commission, and the manager who makes a salary + commission. The employee hits 50-60 hours per week, but had a bad month. The manager keeps pretty strictly to 40 hours a week. The employee was complaining about how difficult it is to make sales right now, and how the manager doesn’t understand how frustrating it is because she’s paid a salary to be there anyways.
She was so offended by that and started trying to justify why she gets paid more. Some of the things she angrily listed:
•she changes the frickin’ lighbulbs (I also do this)
•she takes out the frickin’ trash (when the cleaning lady isn’t there once a week)
•she reviews and signs reports (I am the one that makes the reports)
•she trains and interviews new people (we have not had a new hire for 4 months)
•she has to watch the front desk once a week (I am the one watching it all the other days)
•she has meetings (I am on almost all the same meetings and more)
I don’t know exactly how much she makes but I was listening to this thinking wow, if this is what she has to do as manager I should be making twice as much because I easily do twice that amount of work. Why do I only make 43k a year?
Of course, she has to do other manager bullshit that I wouldn’t want to do, but I was so frustrated thinking about the unfairness of me doing the jobs of literally 4 other people without complaint while she’s whining about changing lightbulbs.
This is why I’ve never agreed with the idea that the wedge between management and employees is artificial and that we’re actually closer in the hierarchy than we think. Managers love the position they’re in. The only complaint they have is that they aren’t allowed to do even less than the bare minimum that they’re assigned already, and that they aren’t worshipped for it all along the way.