4 ms·

Good luck with that. Chances are your salary and potential raise was budgeted long before the inflation hit, so a non-merit raise of 5% is not in this year's b

Good luck with that. Chances are your salary and potential raise was budgeted long before the inflation hit, so a non-merit raise of 5% is not in this year's budget. Unless you have a particularly benevolent organization with funds enough to raise salaries 5% across-the-board it is unlikely that you'll get it. Or, they'll give people cost of living increases, that will pull funds out of the merit raise pool, so no merit raises will be offered, or will be considerably less. They may justify it by saying that inflation hit them too, and everything the company needs to buy to operate got similarly more expensive, so there is no extra money to splash for 5% cost of living increases across the board, and that "we all need to take the hit in the best interest of the company." And, more cynically, they're getting you 5% cheaper now, so there is not a ton of incentive for them to pay you more, since you'll probably stay, or are easy enough to replace at the same or lower salary.

temp234 4y ago
This is realistic, OP. Hop jobs every few years!
- gorjusborg 4y ago
  If you are optimising for income, changing employers can certainly work. It is amazing how money is so tight for raises, while seeming flush with cash while hiring.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    The money is tight for raises because people do not change jobs. The more people hop jobs, the higher the raises since the employer can no longer bet on most people staying put at lower pay.
criticas 4y ago
Managers often have little discretion for unusual pay increases. The budget process, "fairness", and company culture inhibit raises. For anything out of the ordinary, you either need to get a promotion, be indispensable (or have a really strong negotiating position), or leave. In the short term, there may be other factors you can use to offset that. Informal time off, working conditions, work-paid travel to conferences, etc. They don't increase your salary (which means they're not taxable!), but they can increase your quality of life. Managers often have more ability to affect these things, or get budget to implement them, than they have in raising salaries. In my company, vacation and sick pay are ordained across the board. Even the C level is limited to (admittedly generous) standard levels. That's offset by giving managers broad discretion to grant informal time away - if the work is getting done, take a Friday. PS - We're being shafted harder than most people know. The Consumer Price Index, the official measure of inflation, was selected to downplay the actual rate of inflation. The official CPI inflation rate is 8% at the moment. If CPI were calculated the same was as in 1980, it would be 15% (http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts). "Additionally, over the past 30 years, the government has changed the way it calculates inflation more than 20 times. These ‘methodological improvements’ to the CPI are said to give a more accurate measure of consumer prices. However, these changes could also be a convenient way to include or exclude certain products that give favorably low results, but there’s no way to know, given the lack of transparency." (https://www.forbes.com/sites/perianneboring/2014/02/03/if-you-want-to-know-the-real-rate-of-inflation-dont-bother-with-the-cpi/?sh=49ee7755200b https://www.forbes.com/sites/perianneboring/2014/02/03/if-yo...).
- tomrod 4y ago
  To my understanding, CPI does not weight amounts purchased, only general prices. I'm happy to be corrected if that's mistaken. Without the amounts, it's a linear combination of "we're being shafted" and "we can substitute those things left out of the CPI with some ease relative to other types of good." Income + substitution effects and such. Your personal inflation is probably not 15% if you're not buying the exact same bundle of goods you purchased last year. Higher, yes, but if you substitute away or choose other options you're probably not expending exactly 15% more than last year.
- sethrin 4y ago
  Shadowstats is not a reliable source of inflation information. I would link to a critique, but to be honest I think this point is more forcefully made by considering the volume of search results on the subject. Please stop repeating misinformation.
- jghn 4y ago
  As a manager at my company, this year we were given the usual: a small baseline increase with the ability to fudge individual numbers in a zero sum way as well as a small slush fund. The one difference this year was we were also given official talking points on how to gently say "no" to anyone who brought up inflation when they rightfully complained.
  - fundad 4y ago
    slimy

temp234 4y ago

This is realistic, OP. Hop jobs every few years!

gorjusborg 4y ago
If you are optimising for income, changing employers can certainly work. It is amazing how money is so tight for raises, while seeming flush with cash while hiring.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  The money is tight for raises because people do not change jobs. The more people hop jobs, the higher the raises since the employer can no longer bet on most people staying put at lower pay.

criticas 4y ago

Managers often have little discretion for unusual pay increases. The budget process, "fairness", and company culture inhibit raises. For anything out of the ordinary, you either need to get a promotion, be indispensable (or have a really strong negotiating position), or leave. In the short term, there may be other factors you can use to offset that. Informal time off, working conditions, work-paid travel to conferences, etc. They don't increase your salary (which means they're not taxable!), but they can increase your quality of life. Managers often have more ability to affect these things, or get budget to implement them, than they have in raising salaries. In my company, vacation and sick pay are ordained across the board. Even the C level is limited to (admittedly generous) standard levels. That's offset by giving managers broad discretion to grant informal time away - if the work is getting done, take a Friday. PS - We're being shafted harder than most people know. The Consumer Price Index, the official measure of inflation, was selected to downplay the actual rate of inflation. The official CPI inflation rate is 8% at the moment. If CPI were calculated the same was as in 1980, it would be 15% (http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts). "Additionally, over the past 30 years, the government has changed the way it calculates inflation more than 20 times. These ‘methodological improvements’ to the CPI are said to give a more accurate measure of consumer prices. However, these changes could also be a convenient way to include or exclude certain products that give favorably low results, but there’s no way to know, given the lack of transparency." (https://www.forbes.com/sites/perianneboring/2014/02/03/if-you-want-to-know-the-real-rate-of-inflation-dont-bother-with-the-cpi/?sh=49ee7755200b https://www.forbes.com/sites/perianneboring/2014/02/03/if-yo...).

tomrod 4y ago
To my understanding, CPI does not weight amounts purchased, only general prices. I'm happy to be corrected if that's mistaken. Without the amounts, it's a linear combination of "we're being shafted" and "we can substitute those things left out of the CPI with some ease relative to other types of good." Income + substitution effects and such. Your personal inflation is probably not 15% if you're not buying the exact same bundle of goods you purchased last year. Higher, yes, but if you substitute away or choose other options you're probably not expending exactly 15% more than last year.
sethrin 4y ago
Shadowstats is not a reliable source of inflation information. I would link to a critique, but to be honest I think this point is more forcefully made by considering the volume of search results on the subject. Please stop repeating misinformation.
jghn 4y ago
As a manager at my company, this year we were given the usual: a small baseline increase with the ability to fudge individual numbers in a zero sum way as well as a small slush fund. The one difference this year was we were also given official talking points on how to gently say "no" to anyone who brought up inflation when they rightfully complained.
- fundad 4y ago
  slimy