A raise.

[dverna]

Life doesn’t owe you squat. If someone thinks they are underpaid, but cannot find a job that pays more…well…it ain’t rocket surgery. Maybe they are a legend in their own mind?

Anyway. Looks there will be plenty of “newcomers” who will take jobs for a lot less. The plan is working. Screw Americans.

[elmacgyver0]

Life doesn’t owe you squat. If someone thinks they are underpaid, but cannot find a job that pays more…well…it ain’t rocket surgery. Maybe they are a legend in their own mind?

Anyway. Looks there will be plenty of “newcomers” who will take jobs for a lot less. The plan is working. Screw Americans.

Americans have been too fat and lazy for too long of time.

[country gent]

There are to many that have forgotten its a fair days pay for a fair days work. Theres to many who want to sit and play rather than do the job. But this goes both ways as there employers cutting workers and over loading the ones left.

Ive seen new hires that think they should get the slack the 30 year man is getting. Ive seen the new guy tell the 30 year man that he should retire to make room for them. To me the 30 year man was the source of knowledge and experience I wanted to draw on.

[MrWolf]

Last I checked this was America and you were free to work wherever you wanted, assuming they offered you a job. You don't have to take a job. What you do is up to you. Look for more compensation or improve yourself. Really that simple. No one owes you a certain wage.

[Winger Ed.]

A few years ago, while I was still working we all went in and got our evaluations and raises.

I did real well, and others not so much.
The owner of the company predicted some of the others wouldn't be very happy with their results & such.
I told him if they could be replaced by someone else for the same money- or less,,,, the world was level and in balance.

He wasn't used to people talking to him like that.

[fatelk]

I work for a large nation wide company with thousands of employees. Raises are always about the same every year, with very little variation for performance. It's called a "merit increase", but there's very little merit involved, and you're lucky if it keeps up with inflation. Staying in the same position year after year, no matter how much experience and value you gain, will generally not increase your inflation-adjusted income by a cent. Improving and making yourself valuable will get you noticed though, and give you a better shot at moving on to a better position that pays more, or finding a better job with a different employer.

We have one engineer, a really decent, smart, hard-working guy, who left a couple years ago for a better job with a competitor. After a year or so he came back. The grass wasn't greener; the stress and workload with the competitor was not to his liking at all. He had earned a good reputation with us though, and was able to come back to an even better position.

Sure, things are unfair sometimes, but the way to get ahead is by working hard and making yourself more valuable, not by griping and complaining.

[ulav8r]

Was talking to an airline attendant last weekend. He is too young to retire but has worked long enough to earn a pension, once he reaches retirement age. If he left now he would have no income for 10-12 years. Also, he recently got a raise, worked out to about $74 a month. At about the same the monthly parking while he was working went to $65 a month so he is clearing an extra $10 a month to cover Biden's cost of living increases.

[Winger Ed.]

Staying in the same position year after year, no matter how much experience and value you gain, will generally not increase your inflation-adjusted income by a cent. Improving and making yourself valuable will get you noticed though, and give you a better shot at moving on to a better position that pays more, or finding a better job with a different employer..

Most young people don't realize that staying with one company for a long, long time is not the path to the big bucks.
It can happen, but usually not.

For most people to get noticeably more money- they usually need to change companies, or even career paths.
I've seen places where the 'old timers' were upset that new people got hired in and paid more than they were
for the same job.

[BNE]

I am a plant manager. I have been in a management role for over 19 years. I have hired and fired hundreds during that time. The worst week of every year is the week we do reviews and give out more money. Somehow, any discussion of money always gets people upset. I have a handful of people who are always grateful. But unfortunately, those are few and far between the company I work for does a good job of analyzing the pay scale at least twice a year. During Covid we did it three times. Not everybody got a raise three times but we made sure we were fair and consistent.

I appreciate the comments you guys have made, but it is my experience that raise time equals gripe time!

BNE

[8mmFan]

Most of the replies in this thread are probably why I like coming to Cast Boolits so much. Yes, I like all the knowledge about casting boolits I've picked up over the years. I like learning new things, etc.

But the thing I like the most about this place is the general attitude of self-reliance, independent thinking, and "suck it up, and drive on." My dad died in November. He was 84. He lived the philosophy in most of the replies above, and he passed that down to his kids. It feels like I'm with my family when I come in here. If dad had been more of a gun guy he'd have had 15,000 posts here, LOL. He'd have really liked this crowd.

8mmFan

[Dave W.]

Complaining about how much money a person is making seems to be a common thing at every job I worked at. It seems like a lot of people are just not happy with their lives, rather than doing something constructive to make more money, they complain. Over the years I learned to ignore them.

[Iron369]

Idk where you are located, but in some markets, that’s a decent raise. In other places….not so much.
Being union, our raises were set by the contract. The labor market and economy were in a vastly different state 4 years ago when the last contract was signed. Due to our lack of competitive wages, we CANT get skilled workers to even apply. Those of us working, can work as much overtime as we can stand. My average week is 75 hours just because I don’t want to work more. The hourly rate is $5-$12 less than nearly everyone else. A $.50 raise doesn’t cut it. I’m an electrician by trade so I can go to work and make more per hour any day. I’m just getting too old to work on construction projects anymore.

[M-Tecs]

I am a plant manager. I have been in a management role for over 19 years. I have hired and fired hundreds during that time. The worst week of every year is the week we do reviews and give out more money. Somehow, any discussion of money always gets people upset. I have a handful of people who are always grateful. But unfortunately, those are few and far between the company I work for does a good job of analyzing the pay scale at least twice a year. During Covid we did it three times. Not everybody got a raise three times but we made sure we were fair and consistent.

I appreciate the comments you guys have made, but it is my experience that raise time equals gripe time!

BNE

I've been on both sides of the table also. Performance reviews are never fun. Generally, most people are happy when they get a real raise. When the "raise" is less than inflation and the cost-of-living increases for that area it's more of a cost-of-living increase than a true raise. It's hard to convince people they should be happy when in reality they have less purchasing power than the year before.

One company I worked for gave a standard percentage cost of living increase to everyone. It was normally less than the actual cost of living increase. Raises were sperate and linked to performance. I tended to do very well on the raises but some years the company didn't give raises or cost of living to anyone. I jumped ship after two years of that. The next year business was so slow they cut hours to 32 per week for about 9 months.

[Texas by God]

Long, long ago on a HOT day…I told my barely bilingual helper that “ I need a raise”!
He made a fist and asked “How many foots”?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[john.k]

I got my last job at 50 ......pair of skinflints paid me labourers wage for a plant mechanic.........then they would make a big deal of a 50c raise .......pretty soon ,I was keeping the whole place going .and the bosses were pocketing all the money I was saving them on repairs .........they knew they would never get a mechanic on what they were paying me ,didnt make any difference .......lots of crying when I quit ,and the doors closed for good six months later.

[MrWolf]

Thinking back, I never worked anywhere for more than four years until my final job with the county government. Started my full time work around '83 and took the government at the end of 2004. Once I started complaining everyday about work it was time to leave. Government job gets their hooks in ya around years 4-6 when you realize that just sticking it out to ten years get ya something in retirement. Then it becomes getting promoted from within. All civil service jobs so education was basically the way to go and they paid for most of it.

[fatelk]

I am a plant manager. I have been in a management role for over 19 years. I have hired and fired hundreds during that time. The worst week of every year is the week we do reviews and give out more money. Somehow, any discussion of money always gets people upset. I have a handful of people who are always grateful. But unfortunately, those are few and far between the company I work for does a good job of analyzing the pay scale at least twice a year. During Covid we did it three times. Not everybody got a raise three times but we made sure we were fair and consistent.

I appreciate the comments you guys have made, but it is my experience that raise time equals gripe time!

BNE

I work in an industrial plant where I'm the senior tech. I learned years back that annual raises (in my company at least) were nothing more than an attempt at keeping up with inflation, 2-3% at best, and nothing was going to change that. Reviews are a formality, and as long as you put in good effort with a good attitude throughout the year, they're pretty pointless. We're a small crew though, and the boss is keenly aware throughout the year who does what. Back when I worked in a larger crew, for a manager who wasn't as observant, it was a bit discouraging when you saw a lazy self-promoter get ahead with the boss, while hard-working but humble types wouldn't get noticed. Over time though, it would tend to be obvious.

I have developed a respect for plant managers though. It's a tough job, and one that I wouldn't want. I was at some out of state training last year and got talking to a friend of mine who is a regional director. There's been talk that our plant manager is wanting to move on, and this director told me that he thought I should apply for the position when it came open. Nope, not me, not a chance. I've seen the stress these guys are under, the way the company chews them up and spits them out. I think it takes a certain type of personality to do well as a manager, and I just don't manage constant stress that well. It's not for me.

I've been on both sides of the table also. Performance reviews are never fun. Generally, most people are happy when they get a real raise. When the "raise" is less than inflation and the cost-of-living increases for that area it's more of a cost-of-living increase than a true raise. It's hard to convince people they should be happy when in reality they have less purchasing power than the year before.

That's exactly how it is where I work. I'm making less in real purchasing power than I was ten years ago, even though I'm far better at my job and worth far more to the company than I was back then. I've always thought that was ironic.

[farmbif]

I would be happier than a pig in mud with all the corn and turnips I could eat if I had a $1.25/hour raise. back when I was working for the man I was lucky to see a $0.25 hour raise and maybe a ham for a Christmas bonus, even after winning all those corporate awards, industry awards and letters of commendation. But they had no problem paying a new hire with no experience and little promise 3 to 4 times what my pay was because they were not the same ethnic background that I was, anyone remember affirmative action?
My advice for anyone who is dissatisfied with working for someone else. start working for yourself after your day is done working for the man and open your own business once it becomes something you can make a living at.

[Half Dog]

Nowadays a 2-1/2% increase is scoffed at when an employee sees low level managers participating in a management incentive plan. A neighbor worked for GM and a general statement was if they can get bonuses why can’t we?

[littlejack]

Back in 69, I was 18 year old and started my first welding job. I started at 3.00 per hour, and after a few months, I got my first raise of 10 cents. Wow, I thought I was in tall cotton. I stayed in the trade untill 2009 when my knees gave up. Last job, I was making 18.13 building rock crushers. Now days, the burger slingers are creeping up on that amount in some places.