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Executives Play Down the Possibility of Raises

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Re: Executives Play Down the Possibility of Raises

#12
post #8

My favorite scam I've seen lately has been the "We're gonna give you a promotion with no salary increase, see how you do, and then discuss a pay raise after X months! You should be grateful for this opportunity!" And then of course in six months, the pay raise is basically a small bump, versus what one might be paid if brought in as a manager/higher title.

You are supposed to take the promotion, update your linkedin, and find a real position with that title elsewhere for more money.

This is the right answer, they are simply making you more marketable, and you are now gaining "New Position" XP

Re: Executives Play Down the Possibility of Raises

#13
The idea that pay raises come from some sort of collective negotiation with a bunch of executives is just bizarre on its own. Executives do not get to decide the pay level of employees.

The point of the tax law was to lower the cost of employment and investment in the US (specifically, the cost of repatriating foreign profits to pay US salaries and buy US-based infrastructure). The hope being that lower costs cause companies to value US labor more, which tightens the labor market.

A tight labor market causes the raises: companies will continue to offer what they want to offer, and they will be unable to replace attrition because the would-be new hire can do better. The employer is either forced to offer more wages directly, lower their standards to poach employees from lower-paying employers, or do without and leave profit on the table.

But none of that involves buttering up CEOs and getting them to pinky-swear that they're going to give out raises just because they can. The wage level is always "as low as they can get away with"

Re: Executives Play Down the Possibility of Raises

#14

My favorite scam I've seen lately has been the "We're gonna give you a promotion with no salary increase, see how you do, and then discuss a pay raise after X months! You should be grateful for this opportunity!" And then of course in six months, the pay raise is basically a small bump, versus what one might be paid if brought in as a manager/higher title.

One nice thing about working at a place that doesn't have levels is that this crap doesn't happen.

Re: Executives Play Down the Possibility of Raises

#15
> In fact, one basic result in the theory of cheap talk is that if you assume the cheap-talker will do what’s best for him and worst for you, you can often get him to reveal more of the truth.

This is basically the definition of enemy.

These people are your enemies.

By that I mean, in the context of fair wages, employees ought to treat executives as enemies, not as slightly conflicted parties with slightly divergent interests. To win the pay he or she deserves, the employee must have both resolve ("I don't want this person to beat me") and clarity ("this person would gladly pay me half of what I make"). Mind and heart must be ready to fight, thus the word "enemy". A dangerous label but sometimes, a courageous one.

Pretending that these people care about your best interests, that they'd be willing to sacrifice a little because they're so forward-thinking, smacks of conflict-avoidance. I.e., "Oh my boss's boss is just trying to minimize and maximize like any rational actor. It's normal. Happens to everyone. I'm scared!"

Re: Executives Play Down the Possibility of Raises

#16
post #8

My favorite scam I've seen lately has been the "We're gonna give you a promotion with no salary increase, see how you do, and then discuss a pay raise after X months! You should be grateful for this opportunity!" And then of course in six months, the pay raise is basically a small bump, versus what one might be paid if brought in as a manager/higher title.

You are supposed to take the promotion, update your linkedin, and find a real position with that title elsewhere for more money.

I have heard that before. Immediately after a promotion it's best to use the new title in a job search. Pretty sad.

Re: Executives Play Down the Possibility of Raises

#17
post #13

The idea that pay raises come from some sort of collective negotiation with a bunch of executives is just bizarre on its own. Executives do not get to decide the pay level of employees. The point of the tax law was to lower the cost of employment and investment in the US (specifically, the cost of repatriating foreign profits to pay US salaries and buy US-based infrastructure). The hope being that lower costs cause c…

"The point of the tax law was to lower the cost of employment and investment in the US. [...] The hope being that lower costs cause companies to value US labor more, which tightens the labor market."

The point of the tax cut was to get more money in the hands of owners of corporations. And, so far, it's working quite well. We won't see much wage growth for one big reason, the Fed has and will continue to raise interest rates at the slightest sign of inflation.

Re: Executives Play Down the Possibility of Raises

#18
post #13

The idea that pay raises come from some sort of collective negotiation with a bunch of executives is just bizarre on its own. Executives do not get to decide the pay level of employees. The point of the tax law was to lower the cost of employment and investment in the US (specifically, the cost of repatriating foreign profits to pay US salaries and buy US-based infrastructure). The hope being that lower costs cause c…

Is there any verifiable time in history when such a complicated multi-actor system actually did increase wages? Or is this the cold fusion of government policy?

Re: Executives Play Down the Possibility of Raises

#19
post #8

My favorite scam I've seen lately has been the "We're gonna give you a promotion with no salary increase, see how you do, and then discuss a pay raise after X months! You should be grateful for this opportunity!" And then of course in six months, the pay raise is basically a small bump, versus what one might be paid if brought in as a manager/higher title.

You are supposed to take the promotion, update your linkedin, and find a real position with that title elsewhere for more money.

I've had the privilege to have the proactive version of this discussion: A discussion was had about an employee and then the question was asked "If they left, how much would we pay to hire someone the replace them? Let's give them a raise to that amount now and avoid that mess."

Re: Executives Play Down the Possibility of Raises

#20
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are supposed to take the promotion, update your linkedin, and find a real position with that title elsewhere for more money.

I've had the privilege to have the proactive version of this discussion: A discussion was had about an employee and then the question was asked "If they left, how much would we pay to hire someone the replace them? Let's give them a raise to that amount now and avoid that mess."

That sounds like a Sorkin production where everyone is unrealistically smart and rational.
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