Pay Discrepancies in Corporate America

[Big_Hitter]

How long did he last after you matched the offer?

But yes, I agree, finding a market value is the first step for the OP.

 

[eytonxav]

I think one thing that can be disconcerting to younger employees is when they see older employees with time in grade who are making quite a bit more, but are dead wood/slackers. That didn't happen much at my former mega-corp as we made annual staff reductions a best practice, but unfortunately that affected some pretty good performers as well.

Any how, I agree with several of the comments big hitter made throughout this thread.

 

[RISP]

I think one thing that can be disconcerting to younger employees is when they see older employees with time in grade who are making quite a bit more, but are dead wood/slackers.

^This. I think none of us young'uns are jealous of more senior staff who have earned, and are still earning, their high salaries. What's killing me is those old bastards who make twice as much as me for doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I mean literally coming in at 10:30, reading the paper until lunch, then taking a nap in their private offices (new folks are assigned a desk in an open space office) before googling themselves until it's time to go home.

 

[ziggy29]

I think one thing that can be disconcerting to younger employees is when they see older employees with time in grade who are making quite a bit more, but are dead wood/slackers. That didn't happen much at my former mega-corp as we made annual staff reductions a best practice, but unfortunately that affected some pretty good performers as well.

Well, IMO it's not even that they are usually "dead wood" but that so many workplaces now have multiple tiers for their workers, where newer employees pretty much always get the shaft compared to the old-timers. They are often on a considerably lower pay scale for the same amount of qualifications, they get 401Ks instead of DB pensions, they don't get retiree health insurance, et cetera.

And this is when the younger workers realize that no matter how good they are, no matter how long they stay with their current employer, they will *never* come close to getting the financial security deal the older folks got. And that can lead to resentment in the workplace.

 

[eytonxav]

Well, IMO it's not even that they are usually "dead wood" but that so many workplaces now have multiple tiers for their workers, where newer employees pretty much always get the shaft compared to the old-timers. They are often on a considerably lower pay scale for the same amount of qualifications, they get 401Ks instead of DB pensions, they don't get retiree health insurance, et cetera.

And this is when the younger workers realize that no matter how good they are, no matter how long they stay with their current employer, they will *never* come close to getting the financial security deal the older folks got. And that can lead to resentment in the workplace.

Unfortunately, that is quite true. Times have changed and will most likely not revert back to the past environment. You cannot let that negatively affect you, as there is not much you can do about it other than work your way up or leave for another opportunity if you don't like it. There are probably many older workers as well that lament on how it used to be. Change is tough, but the sooner you get over it the better. A good read on this subject is a book called "Who Stole my Cheese."

 

[Danmar]

reading this make me sooooooooo damn glad that I am no longer part of the insanity.

Likewise. Although in my case it was really worth it. By reading these types of threads, I realize again how lucky I was/am.

 

[convergent]

How long did he last after you matched the offer?

But yes, I agree, finding a market value is the first step for the OP.

As far as I know, he's still there.... so longer than me! I left about a year and a half ago. But keep in mind we didn't just match an offer. We gave a half dozen people in the department a huge raise. That guy was probably viewed as a hero among his immediate co-workers, and they were a close knit group. There was no feeling from management of negativity against this guy.

 

[Big_Hitter]

^This. I think none of us young'uns are jealous of more senior staff who have earned, and are still earning, their high salaries. What's killing me is those old bastards who make twice as much as me for doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I mean literally coming in at 10:30, reading the paper until lunch, then taking a nap in their private offices (new folks are assigned a desk in an open space office) before googling themselves until it's time to go home.

what type of work?

 

[Big_Hitter]

Any how, I agree with several of the comments big hitter made throughout this thread.

well I guess I've been in "mgt" for about 20 years or so, and I've been at both ends of this, mostly smaller practices - some as small as 5, some as large as 30

 

[txtig]

^This. I think none of us young'uns are jealous of more senior staff who have earned, and are still earning, their high salaries. What's killing me is those old bastards who make twice as much as me for doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I mean literally coming in at 10:30, reading the paper until lunch, then taking a nap in their private offices (new folks are assigned a desk in an open space office) before googling themselves until it's time to go home.

Hey! I resent that remark! I'm not doing "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING". I'm checking my retirement account balances, running FIRECalc, checking how the market's doing, and making plans on what I'm going to do once I finally decide to pull the plug. That's a lot of hard work!!

 

[eytonxav]

Hey! I resent that remark! I'm not doing "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING". I'm checking my retirement account balances, running FIRECalc, checking how the market's doing, and making plans on what I'm going to do once I finally decide to pull the plug. That's a lot of hard work!!

LOL, based on some of the post counts that some of the pre-retirees have on this site, you are probably in good company.

Prior to retiring, in my former mega-corp, I was way too busy to be surfing the web, and further more, IT had eavesdropping software and it was strongly discouraged up and down the management chain. Frequent use of ones personal cell phone was also discouraged.

 

[aggie76]

LOL, based on some of the post counts that some of the pre-retirees have on this site, you are probably in good company.

Prior to retiring, in my former mega-corp, I was way too busy to be surfing the web, and further more, IT had eavesdropping software and it was strongly discouraged up and down the management chain. Frequent use of ones personal cell phone was also discouraged.

The kid has it wrong. What the "old farts" were really doing was spending the day talking about how EASY the young uns have it. How much they are making at such a young age vs the paltry sum we made back in ought something....lamenting the weekends and holidays lost over the last 40 years while we watch the young uns demand AND GET those every other Friday off things and nerry a weekend shall be worked lifestyle.........

SOOOOOOOOO verrrrrrry glad this crap is all behind me....

 

[eytonxav]

The kid has it wrong. What the "old farts" were really doing was spending the day talking about how EASY the young uns have it. How much they are making at such a young age vs the paltry sum we made back in ought something....

If you were making a paltry sum back in 20xx, you are still a young un

 

[UpAnchor]

If you were making a paltry sum back in 20xx, you are still a young un

Good catch. Unless he meant the previous ought-something.

 

[karen1972]

I'd definitely check headhunters to figure out what standard pay is.. as I always worked at a company that over paid so jumping was not really an option, but I did go out around once a year and interview elsewhere, just to keep fresh, to ensure I was still marketable, and to make sure I was being appropriately valued.

Then you should really look to see if the other person is really doing the same job as you. its all well and good to cover when someones on vacation but typically changes in job require changes in responsibility and sometimes that equates to significant changes in responsibility that warrant certain pay compensations. For example once you get to signature authority and your now on the hook for the books, audits, etc.

Just remember you can never control what others make and you will always find that one guy that is way overpaid and no one knows why (insert rumor mill)... Its only when you find you are way undervalued that I'd suggest jumping ship as usually pay disparity can be remedied via promotions as the pool of money is typically higher and more flexible.

 

[RISP]

what type of work?

Megacorp setting; they exist in all administrative functions: Legal, Finance, HR, ...
I guess it would be harder to do that in a Sales or Manufacturing role.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Megacorp setting; they exist in all administrative functions: Legal, Finance, HR, ...
I guess it would be harder to do that in a Sales or Manufacturing role.

impossible to do in a professional services firm unless they are making it rain, hard