OK so obviously getting a pay rise is great news for me, however the purpose of this post is not to rub everyone’s face in my good fortune* but to tell you about some of the comments made by my boss, and the resulting conversation we had. Some of the topics I thought were pertinent to this blog, some I thought were just quite interesting, and some I found rather strange or amusing. (And some all of the above!)
1. Despite just giving me nearly a 20% raise she still said it was less than I deserved. Obviously I was over the moon with it, so I made the point I’ve made a times few times now that I’m not really too fussed about money and would prefer if anything more free time and less demanding work schedules**. I mention this quite often, in the hope that I am planting a seed that I can successfully negotiate a 4 or maybe even 3 day work week at some point in the future (with corresponding pay cut if necessary, of course), and approach the subject without causing too much of a surprise.
This led on to our usual chat about being understaffed; hence the demanding work schedules (bet you couldn’t see that one coming!). She made a really strange comment which was something along the lines of: “If we employ more people and everyone isn’t working on overdrive, then they’ll have more time to brush up their skills and end up leaving to employers who are paying higher wages.”
Wow… did I really just hear that? She doesn’t want workers improving their skills as then they’ll realise they are being underpaid and jump ship as soon as possible?! It’s just like the proverbial “Lock In” that Jacob talks about in chapter two of his brilliant and enlightening ERE book
1. Hire enough people to do the jobs required, so people aren’t overworked and stressed. Greater job satisfaction.
2. Help develop staff as much as possible.
3. Pay them what they are worth!!!***
The final comment which just made me chuckle internally really, was about bonuses. The comment was something along the lines of :
“So next year your bonus should be quite a big chunk, so you can really do something with it like buy a new car, rather than just pay off your credit card bill.”
Oh if only they knew… 😉
* On the contrary, this site is all about helping others, so I’ll be writing a post or two soon about how to further your career and how to get a good pay rise. In the four years since 2009 I’ve managed to increase my salary by 85%, in what is supposedly an economic depression, so I’ll be sharing the methods that I think were instrumental in helping me achieve this! Back ↑
**Please note never just say “I don’t really care about money” as I stupidly have done in the past, without making it clear that there is some sort of caveat or alternative you’d like instead (more free time). Many “managers” will hear that and just think, “ok no raise for you for the next few years”. Back ↑
***To put this into context this is not a company that is struggling in any sense of the word, quite the opposite in fact, and has the financial backing from a company in the top 50 of the FTSE 100. So spare cash for a few extra employees and a few raises where deserved should not be hard to come by. Back ↑
Nice job on a 20% pay increase. That’s certainly a game changer! I’ve always felt the same way about people who work too much. Why not just hire more people and have everyone work 4 days a week. Life could be great for everyone.
Cheers. Yea it has made the plan a bit easier (still need to actually run some numbers though… one of my tasks in January). It kinda felt like cheating a bit as when I started the blog I thought I had a fixed income. Anyways.
Did you know in the UK we actually had an enforced three day week back in the seventies? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Day_Week
Fascinating stuff. It obviously screwed a lot of people over back then, but with productivity increases nowadays a 4 day week should be entirely possible.
I downshifted a little over 3 years ago & only work a 3 day week. This means true FI is longer way away but there’s no rush as I really enjoy my work & when you only work (& consequentially) commute 3 days a week it is the minority part of your life. Mrs LCIL also is downshifted & works 3 1/2 days a week so we can keep our childcare costs to a minimum (& our kids get to hang out with us much more than with the childminder).
I hear you about the pay rise vs quality of life…. I’m frequently asked when I will go back full time, but to be honest the longer I am part time the less interest I have in going back into what the mainstream consider full time employment.
That sounds like a great situation. How did you swing it if you don’t mind me asking? Did you just ask and they said ok? I might well try that in a few years time if it feels like the time is right.
Well number 2 child had arrived & my wife & I had decided we wanted to downshift to be with the children more when they were young. I applied formally for flexible working within my management role: this was rejected but by good chance a part time (more junior) support admin roll was posted a short while after – i applied for this & being more than qualified for it I got the job. I think having already applied for flexible working I’d put my cards on the table so to speak, so by boss understood why I was applying.
I took a big pay-cut to do this as the new job was at a lower pay-scale, & also only 3 days, so the earnings dropped significantly, but we have just adjusted our outgoings appropriately.
Over time my new roll has evolved into way more than the original job description – entirely because of the added “resource” of having me in the position, so the job has stayed fresh & interesting.
So now I work 3 months (92 days) less a year than I used to. It’s a great place to be…. I’m sure this country would be happier place if more people were able to do this in their workplaces.
Wow… Fair play to you sir. Thanks for sharing, I can really see me going down that route for sure. We’ll see how it plays out, I guess the biggest take away is that if you don’t ask you won’t ever find out!
“I’m sure this country would be happier place if more people were able to do this in their workplaces.” – Could not agree more, and I am sure unemployment would end up going down as well.