I found out today that I won't be getting a pay rise, which is supremely disappointing considering what I have been doing the last almost six months, which is another person's full job on top of my own. This is not the end of the world, but it was somewhat surprising considering what has been accomplished throughout the last year and it feels as if it has been left unrecognized, when it definitely has made an impact on the organization. While there is possibility for discussion still open, in my opinion, there should have been at least a token gesture offered in order to recognize achievement.
Working for a pay rise is a losing game I believe, however a salary increase is like a scoring system of a kind, where it is an indicator of progression. I have taken the approach that salary should reflect the role and the performance, as well as the impact the role makes on an organization. If the role is necessary, the performance meeting needs or higher and the impact clear, the salary should fairly compensate, regardless of whether the person needs the money or not.
Which reminds me of when I was around twenty years of age at university and working at McDonald's full-time to cover my costs and mortgage. I was offered a gig from a one-man marketing company doing some media monitoring for a few hours a week, a few mornings a week. Essentially, the guy didn't have time to do it in his schedule so was farming the work out to me. For a few hours work it was paying the same as two weeks of my salary and when I questioned why he was paying me so much, he said, because that is what I get paid to do it, and I won't be doing it, you will.
It is about worth.
And I think that this is what has frustrated me here, as the worth of what has been done has been worth more than what I have been paid for it so far, where there is an "above and beyond" situation, and no one else able to do the same. A token gesture would have been enough reward to sate, but no recognition leaves me feeling a little empty - like eating good food at a nice restaurant, but the portion sizes are too small.
This was kind of sprung on me today in a one-to-one session and I didn't really react much to it at the time, other than saying that I want to be able to negotiate this further down the track. However, now that I have had time to think about this more, I will bring it up with my supervisor again when I see them and discuss how this feels. It is not about the money, it is about the recognition of being someone that they turned to who reliably delivered, despite the impact it made on my own life.
I am not expecting this to change the situation now, but I want it to be on the personal record so to speak and I think it would influence the discussions down the road. And, I think that it will also be respected by my supervisor, as well as clear my own head, rather than letting it fester and grow out of proportion.
And, it is the "out of proportion" that I will mitigate, because any expected salary increase wouldn't have made that much of a difference to my personal conditions, as they wouldn't be that large anyway. However, I was hoping to cover the change of the increased costs of living in the country, otherwise the increase in workload isn't worth it. But, at the same time, this position comes with opportunities that I wouldn't have available to me, and there is value to me in the opportunity in the future.
And, I think that this is what I will take away from it, where while I believe there is more worth in what I am doing now, the personal value to me in the future, goes beyond the immediate value I get paid for it currently. This means that the work I am doing now can compound into something that is more valuable to me in the future, than the token gesture I could have been handed. This might sound like rationalizing bad outcomes, but in my experience, it is a rational approach to building value and collateral for later.
The value of the lesson, is usually worth more than the cost.
The door is still open.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
