On this week's episode of The Office corporate alerts Jim and Michael that there won't be funds to give everyone a raise and the co-managers are tasked with telling the team the crushing news.
Jim makes his first big call by announcing only the salespeople will receive raises. This immediately insights panic and questions from the ranks. While Jim and Michael feel the pressure to make everyone happy, the crew is understandably upset by the news and quick to jump on Dwight's revolt train. They even snoop in on Jim and Michael's bizarre promotion based on photos and beans project in the conference room.
It's a whole mess of silliness, but an unorthodox reminder that talking about raises with co-workers can get hairy, and isn't easy for employers or employees. Do you discuss raises openly with people at your workplace, or is money talk kept behind closed doors?
Photo courtesy of NBC
Armand Basi
Vero Moda
Christian Louboutin
Never ever talk about raises or salaries with coworkers. It can only lead to bad things. The only exception is probably if you get a promotion and acknowledge that you also got a raise, but even then you shouldn't mention how much.
1Well, we don't have to deal with THIS topic right now...the whole company's on salary freeze for "an indefinite period of time". No raise talk going on there.
2Although I don't think salaries should be discussed on a day-to-day basis or over lunch with colleagues, I feel okay about approaching a couple of my close colleagues who hold similar titles/job functions in my company behind closed doors for a one-on-one chat. These conversations help me to get a sense of where my salary should be. I did this right before my promotion last year, and intend to check in with those same colleagues before I'm next up for a review. I also visit payscale.com, but every company is different so as I said, I like to discuss with my close colleagues to make sure we're all in the same range relative to our experience and responsibilities.
3I have a government job (prosecutor) and I get a "step" increase every year. We all do.
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