WockaWocka Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 How do you handle a huge wage gap between you and a colleague who does the same or less work? I just finished my first full year at a job I love. I worked my behind off to complete all of my projects on time and under budget plus pitched in to cover for others. I received word yesterday that I was a top performer and so I am getting a 6% raise. This should make me happy and I am grateful to have a job. HOWEVER, last year I was filling in for my boss on some work on cost projections and the accounting dept sent me hourly wage numbers for several coworkers. So I saw that the only person whose job is comparable to mine earns 25% more. I figured I should wait until I see my raise, maybe it will be really high. 6% is a good raise, but at this rate it would take 4 years of me getting this top-performer raise and her getting 0% raises for us to earn similar salaries. There may be some good reasons for the disparity, for example she has been in the workforce with her advanced degree about 4 years longer, including 3 at that company, but given above it doesn't quite add up. She has done some good work and is always deferential and mostly just a giant flirty suck-up. But my boss sometimes even complains that because she's ESL (from China) that there needs to be a lot of checks before she simply sends emails to our clients. And she's also complained to me that the company limited her raises because they paid thousands of dollars to sponsor her for a US visa, so hypothetically that should put me at more of an advantage. So I don't really know what to think. My question is whether or not to say anything. I think I should probably say nothing and live with it, maybe I'm playing with fire to bring up the issue. But it makes me angry, especially when she and I are co-managing a big project and my boss told me that he's counting on me to see it through. Thoughts? Link to comment
happyfrank Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 You shouldn't say anything. The amount co-worker makes is really none of your business. Link to comment
EssexMan Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 maybe I'm playing with fire to bring up the issue Yes, you would be. First, being (seemingly) jealous of a colleague never plays well with bosses. Second, you were given those wage figures in order to do your job, not in order to compare yourself to colleagues. You should act like you've never seen them. Incidentally, if you carry on getting 6% raises and she gets none, you will be ahead of her in three years, not five. (Assume you are earning 100 and she is earning 125. You are going up to 106 now. A year from now when your next raise kicks in you will hit approx. 112, two years from now approx. 119, and three years from now approx. 126.) Link to comment
Huntress0527 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 There isn't much you can do. Where I work you can get fired for discussing your personal payroll. It seems like her percentage is mostly based on tenure. I know my partner makes more than me and does way less than I do but she's put in the time so she gets paid more. Just the way it goes. Link to comment
Heather Dawn Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 You shouldn't say anything. The amount co-worker makes is really none of your business. Agreed. You're really not supposed to discuss these things with co-workers, and it's not your business. Link to comment
blueidealist24 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I know it doesn't seem fair, but if she was hired before you then maybe the company was offering a higher salary then, especially if it was pre-recession. If you don't have an advanced degree maybe that is another reason for the pay disparity. As another poster mentioned you will likely eventually be ahead in pay, but you are new to the job so I don't think you should say anything because it would just cause drama and diminish your reputation. Link to comment
Furbys Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I understand how frustrating it is but do not do it. You were given the responsibility to file away those files and you had to this this with confidentiality. If you say something then you will get in trouble as it will look like you were snooping. You will look like your trying to cause trouble. Where i work it is written into our contracts that we cannot discuss our earnings with anyone or we will get disciplinary action. Link to comment
WockaWocka Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 Agreed. You're really not supposed to discuss these things with co-workers, and it's not your business. Not sure which thread you were reading but i never said i discussed with anyone. In fact I specifically asked the guy in accounting not to send me any confidential salary information, rather just to send me an aggregated cost estimate based on a list of each person and the number of hours they were putting in on this project. I think he was just being lazy and sent me everyone's rate so that I could just redo it myself in case of changes. I did not want to know. It happened to me at the last place I worked too. I wish I could put that genie back in the box! It seems like her percentage is mostly based on tenure. I know my partner makes more than me and does way less than I do but she's put in the time so she gets paid more. Just the way it goes. I know it doesn't seem fair, but if she was hired before you then maybe the company was offering a higher salary then, especially if it was pre-recession. If you don't have an advanced degree maybe that is another reason for the pay disparity. As another poster mentioned you will likely eventually be ahead in pay, but you are new to the job so I don't think you should say anything because it would just cause drama and diminish your reputation. Thanks Blue and Huntress. She and I have the same degree. You are right, too much drama. We technically work for different companies, so I was thinking I could ask my offsite boss whether there is any effort to ensure pay equality with the other company, even without mentioning any names. But after thinking about it some more, I'm glad I mentioned it here and am deciding not to. It just sparks a lot of workplace drama. Will keep my head down and work hard. And complain anonymously online Link to comment
WockaWocka Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 BTW the "how to handle" part is as much emotional as logistical. I work 60+ hours a week and take a lot of pride in my work, and am sick of this particular coworker stabbing me in the back. I have to find a way to swallow this and stay positive. Link to comment
Huntress0527 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I know it's hard when you know they are a crappy employee and feel they don't deserve what they are being compensated. All you can do is focus on you and no one else. If you focus on other people then you're just going to drive yourself crazy. Just keep shining and you'll get recognized! Link to comment
Kamisaur Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Does your job have any policies on discussing salary? Some places have a contractual obligation that employees cannot discuss their salary. If your place has that, you can't really do anything without jeopardizing your job. Link to comment
WockaWocka Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 Does your job have any policies on discussing salary? Some places have a contractual obligation that employees cannot discuss their salary. If your place has that, you can't really do anything without jeopardizing your job. We don't, and in the US these restrictions are actually illegal (though may exist) - see pdfs link removed and link removed (both pdfs): "Unlawful employer actions that are prohibited by the Act include: Prohibiting employees from discussing or sharing information about their wages or working conditions." Also, since she and I work for different companies there's nothing to say I couldn't ask an indirect Q to my employer during the discussion about my raise about whether there is an effort to equalize salaries between my company and the company where I am secunded to, without any reference to her salary. But it will seem odd. --- All of the above being said, I think I probably won't do the above. Life isn't fair. Maybe in a few years the tables will be turned, but causing drama right now probably won't help me. Thanks. Link to comment
Heather Dawn Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Not sure which thread you were reading but i never said i discussed with anyone. In fact I specifically asked the guy in accounting not to send me any confidential salary information, rather just to send me an aggregated cost estimate based on a list of each person and the number of hours they were putting in on this project. I think he was just being lazy and sent me everyone's rate so that I could just redo it myself in case of changes. I did not want to know. It happened to me at the last place I worked too. I wish I could put that genie back in the box! No, I know - I just meant that the whole topic is generally considered taboo anyway, so bringing it up to your boss would be a bad idea. Link to comment
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