Worker ‘Disgusted’ After Receiving Promotion With A $1 An Hour Pay Raise
He argued that after giving all of his energy to the company, it was disappointing to receive the meager "pay raise."
TetianaKtv | Shutterstock An employee questioned if he was wrong for being upset after learning the amount that he was getting in a pay raise from his boss at work. Posting about it on Reddit, he was initially excited to hear that he was up for a promotion that would grant him the career growth he had been hoping for.
Unfortunately, the extra work and responsibility weren't being rewarded with better pay. Knowing his own worth, he countered their offer but was told he would only be eligible for more money after merit reviews in 4 months. Basically, he'd have to work harder in a new role without any just compensation.
A worker said he was 'disgusted' after receiving a promotion with a $1/hour pay raise.
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"I have felt they are a great company, who cares about their employees. I made $24/hour. Well I expressed interest in chasing an upcoming promotion, and one day it was offered to me! I was so excited," he began in his Reddit post.
He explained that the promotion meant an opportunity for significant career advancement, and he would gain an immense amount of experience that would continue to benefit him in the future. With the new promotion, though, came an increase in his workload, but during his interview, when he was told that, he insisted that he was more than eager to get started because he knew the payoff would be worth it.
However, his mood dipped when his boss told him, "The pay starts at $25/hour," which was only a $1 increase from his previous rate. The worst part about that was the promotion meant he was doing way more work than he had been doing before, but receiving only a $1 pay increase felt like a slap in the face.
The worker told his boss that he would not accept the promotion without better compensation.
His boss claimed that she would have to speak with their regional manager about the pay, but when he followed up with her a few more times, she claimed that the manager hadn't responded at all. Then, just a few days later, his boss made a huge announcement for everyone in the office that someone else had been promoted to his old position, even though he had not yet accepted the new position.
"I asked her again, any word on the salary? She said nothing (this is 2 days before I’m supposed to start the new job) Finally I ask a different manager, and she goes, 'Oh, she didn’t tell you? You are going to have to wait until merit reviews in February to get a better increase,'" he recalled.
He wrote, "I’m furious. I’m disgusted I work for this company. The fact that I have to wait for merit reviews to get compensated for a promotion has me ready to quit tomorrow." His anger is valid.
As one commenter noted, "It's scary how many times I've seen people forced into promotions they didn't want. You are right it's a fools game. Linear progressions of pay for exponential increases in work and responsibility. I don't think they would have ever even considered anyone would turn down a promotion as historically that was a positive thing to aspire to. Now they can't get qualified people into these roles because anyone who actually knows what it takes to do the job well would realize they wouldn't actually want the job."
He can use his new title to find a better-paying job.
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This company does not value him. They know this could very well push him to find another job, and they are still unwilling to compensate him appropriately. Instead, they will squeeze every bit of work they can out of him, using the terrible job market in their favor. These bosses know that it could take a year or more to actually find work in this economy.
The fact that he was offered such an impressive promotion that he was excited about, only to realize the company clearly didn't value him enough to offer him more of a pay raise for double the work that he was going to be doing, is the reason why so many employees feel as undervalued as they do in the workplace.
It's also why burnout is high and productivity is low. According to a report from Workhuman, one in two employees only feel "somewhat valued" at their jobs, and one in 10 don't feel "valued at all."
How are employees supposed to feel motivated at work when their employer isn't appreciating their hard work? For this worker and the countless other employees in the same boat, the issue is that instead of being made to feel as if they belong at a company, they're left questioning whether loyalty even exists anymore.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
