Have you been feeling like you're in a seemingly endless salary funk? You're so not alone. A new Hewitt Associates study shows that base pay in 2009 will rise just enough to make it the seventh year in a row of flat salary growth. That's quite a long time for workers to be barely keeping up with inflation, and those of us who entered the workforce within the last seven years may have more than noticed that our salaries are taking small baby steps.
While we can't expect a boost in our base salary, the good news it's expected that one-time performance-based pay will grow by 10.6 percent. These are different times than just a decade ago, when the majority of compensation growth came from increases in base salary rather than merit-based bonuses.
Killah
Minnetonka
Elle Macpherson
see this is the challenge that i don't understand. if employers aren't raising salaries at the same rate of 'cost of living' increases YOY - then how do they expect us to continue working for them?
as for the performance based raises - see - i've always had a 10%+ increase if i've done a good job, and apparently it's the norm in my company to just give a 2% - which really isn't anything at all. i had a great review and my anniversary just passed here and i haven't seen any increases at all aside from the 2% that i got at my review. to me, that's not saying that i did a good job - that's saying that i did an 'eh' job - and well..at 2% with taxes in NYC - i don't see an increase and i'm a bit insulted.
the hard part is that my company is in the midst of doing layoffs so i can't really ask for more money seeing as how there are a lot of folks that are losing their jobs - so do you have any suggestions for me?
1This is very interesting. I have a friend who is deathly afraid of rocking the boat at her job - she's been there for 6 years and only received the 2% increase that everyone gets every year for cost of living increase. It's a increase based on her salary and then it is spread out per pay check. She's been getting more work, more duties, and there have been major layoffs. She knows she need a raise and she doesn't ask. I think this is increasing common b/c I think a lot of people are in this boat.
At the position I am at now, I was told in my interview that I would be eligible for a bonus if the company makes it's numbers. The company made its number over the expected. I was hired a month after the cut off date but wasn't told that in the interview. I went to my boss and just told her I thought it was unfair to now tell me I was not eligible when they made this part of the package when I was hired. I'll know by the end of the week the decision as she has to discuss with the Senior VP of our department.
2Hmmm sounds a lot like the situation I have been in. The cost of living in my city is pretty high. Gas, food, rent, electricity, everything costs a lot more! Every year we get our annual raise, mine was 7%. At the same time, however, most companies have been giving people here a 7% cost of living raise. And because of where our annual raise falls it fell right when the other companies were giving the cost of living raise! Soooo beasically, I dont' see ME as getting a raise! It sucks.
I asked for another, but they said that they have given me more then enough! It sucks the big one for sure...
3Aww, Lovely_1 that sounds horrible that a company would say that to you (more then enough). It amazes me how much some companies really do not value their employees or their work that they do for the company or industry.
4It was horrible! And I really do work as hard as they need me too (overtime, taking on more responsibilites, etc) AND the other sad thing is I just started taking school part-time. I asked them to pay for it, or even part of it, and they said no! geeezzz..
5Raises are a sore subject with me right now
I have not had one in 3 years! The
company was doing poorly so when i got promoted January 07 instead of giving me more money they decided to pay 100% of my health insurance which i really appreciate but it also benifits them
tax wise. Well last summer i asked for the raise i was supposed to get with the promotion and the company was having a tough time financially so they said we know you deserve a raise but we
can't now check back with us next year so i did and they said when we get a few more jobs (we are a construction co) so i have been waiting we got a few more but i figured i would wait for
like 2 more before i asked again but my boss came to me and said they were not going to give me a raise instead they would give me bonuses every few months. This does not make sense to me and
does not help me with bills on a regular basis. Now i want to know when i am actually gonna get a bonus and how much it will be but i don't know how to go about bringing this up.
Sorry for the rant I am a little aggrivated
6I forgot to add that i went from being an admin assistant to the office manager so i should be getting a lot more money as i know what the last office manager was making and it was ALOT more than i am making now!
7at elast they are giving you other things though!
8i would be happy with a bonus (we don't get one), or part of my schooling paid for!
I know. I am happy with the bonuses so i guess i sounded ungrateful it's just that i don't know when i am actually getting one and it would really help if my weekly check had even a little more money.
9Congrats on the promotion Liss.
Lovely_1, that does sound bad. They could at least pitched in for the books. I know if I don't get this bonus, I am not due for one until my anniversary in Jan. I worked at a job for 4 years without a raise and then they downsized a large number of the company to save on money.
10Thanks Bellaressa!
11Wow! A promotion without a raise?! There's something to be said for the promotion, congratulations! You'll be able to put it on your resume when job searching.
My problem is that we're entering a recession (well, I'm convinced we are) so I am just glad to have a job...I got a 4%something raise this year, but it's still not much.
I also got somewhat of a promotion, but no talk of a raise. Next year I'm going to ask for one because of the higher level of duties, but right now it's all still shaking out.
12At my job, I'm a temp (contract), and they paid more money to get me in as I said I wasnt interested.
Now I'm here, and theres very little work to be done (im the only analyst for 8 engineers on a very large project) I have no cause to ask for a raise, as I do very little work. I cant help the amount of work there is, but I really need a job and/or a little bit more money.
I'm shopping around for a job but it took me 6 months to find this one so I'll be stuck in a loop for at least another 6 months I think.
Worst bit is, they can fire me at any moment without notice, and I have a feeling they may be doing that sometime soon.
13Also, I've NEVER known anyone, not a single soul, to get cost of living increases in their job. Maybe its a US thing?
The rest of the world just struggles on what pay they get
14My raise last month was less than the amount they raised the parking by in the building.
15Bleh. We're supposed to get between a 2-4% cost-of-living raise each June (coupled with elevated union dues, of course, UGH) but we didn't get anything this year.
16gemsera I'm in Canada and my mom just got a cost of living raise. I find only large corporations do this...not the smaller ones.
17about the promotion w/o a raise thing - ti's really funny - when i was planning to leave my last job - i told my boss that it was partly because i was doing the work of the level above and wasn't getting the title for it - and he said 'you can call yourself what ever you want' and i said ok then do i get the pay to go with it and the answer was no. it's such a double standard sometimes.
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