Exit sign?

[pb4uski]

Yup... they don't call it FU money for nothing.

 

[chassis]

Hi – I thought I would bounce my situation off of the group given the other good feedback that I have received with other posts...

So I have been at my company roughly 20 years. The last 10 have been managing a couple small teams which total 8-10 folks. When I took this position a couple of my new direct reports had salaries similar to mine and most years, we would leapfrog each other. They of course had no idea but it was always a sore spot for me and one that I just dealt with given the other perks of the job.

Now after this most recent compensation period I am feeling… well… ticked off about the situation knowing that my department head is just being cheap. At first, I thought it was Covid burnout but after bouncing the scenario off a close friend he thought I was being taken advantage of since I am not being a “squeaky wheel” about my pay. In my recent review I pushed the subject with my manager and am waiting to hear back on what they come back with. (manager agrees with me, it is there boss who is the issue i believe)

My plan is to FIRE soon, but I have OMY syndrome at the moment though this situation has had one silver lining in that it has helped push me in that direction. I can’t really complain about the job or company outside of this area and have enjoyed my time but knowing that this is going on, it has really impacted me this year and I question how far I should push the issue given mentally I am already month to month on when to submit my notice and retire.

What would you do…?

Thanks

@zekeboz You have a stream of cash coming in. You know how to do the work. The organization at some level has accepted you, having been there for 20 years. It seems a relatively stable and predictable income. So there's that.

What are your alternatives? I didn't see you reply to the question of your age. How old are you?

If you are willing and able to change jobs, you have that option.

If you are able, but not willing, to change jobs, then you have one choice - deal with it and give a full day's work for a full day's pay until you decide to retire.

 

[Aerides]

When I took this position a couple of my new direct reports had salaries similar to mine and most years, we would leapfrog each other. They of course had no idea but it was always a sore spot for me and one that I just dealt with given the other perks of the job.

This wasn't unusual at my Mega, especially when the raise from Project Manager to Director would - at most - yield a 10% increase for a promotion.

The superstars in the direct report groups could easily beat the Director with a good raise/bonus matching their high rating of their peers. Whereas the D doing a decent job, but not a superstar in their new realm (and almost impossible to become in the first 2-3 years in role) would easily be eclipsed by one or two tenured, awesome direct reports.

OP if you are ready to ER, great. If not, you have nothing to lose by asking for a significant raise. But if you're going to ask for it be prepared to stay for a bit. No point in having your boss use their capital to go to bat for you and have it blow up on them in 6 months. Because...chances are s/he's in the same boat as you, if your company has these structural pay issues like so many do.

 

[corn18]

Can you engineer your layoff and a package?

 

[JT90505]

Hi – I thought I would bounce my situation off of the group given the other good feedback that I have received with other posts...

So I have been at my company roughly 20 years. The last 10 have been managing a couple small teams which total 8-10 folks. When I took this position a couple of my new direct reports had salaries similar to mine and most years, we would leapfrog each other. They of course had no idea but it was always a sore spot for me and one that I just dealt with given the other perks of the job.

Now after this most recent compensation period I am feeling… well… ticked off about the situation knowing that my department head is just being cheap. At first, I thought it was Covid burnout but after bouncing the scenario off a close friend he thought I was being taken advantage of since I am not being a “squeaky wheel” about my pay. In my recent review I pushed the subject with my manager and am waiting to hear back on what they come back with. (manager agrees with me, it is there boss who is the issue i believe)

My plan is to FIRE soon, but I have OMY syndrome at the moment though this situation has had one silver lining in that it has helped push me in that direction. I can’t really complain about the job or company outside of this area and have enjoyed my time but knowing that this is going on, it has really impacted me this year and I question how far I should push the issue given mentally I am already month to month on when to submit my notice and retire.

What would you do…?

Thanks

My read is you have two issues. 1) Early retirement, and 2) Your expectation that as the front line supervisor of a very small number of people you should be making more than them. I would not conflate the two.

Early retirement is covered in dozens of threads.

As a front line supervisor it is not at all unusual for high value direct reports to make higher salaries. The organization values their contribution similarly or higher than yours. Accept that or move on.

The only thing I would be irritated about is that your manager does not own the situation and instead passes the buck to his/her manager. This person should not be a manager.

 

[marko]

There have been many threads here on how to leave a job.

I always felt that the angry "take this job and shove it" was a poor approach. In my 35 years as a supervisor (and including my own departure), those who left on a high note were the better person.

Sure, I had many 'shove it' resignations but to me, it only told me what I had suspected of that person; in the end I was glad to see them go. Good riddance! Conversely, those who left with a bit of class--even if it was somewhat faked--made me think "maybe I could've done a better job to keep him/her". One such resignation, outlining the 'why' ended up creating several entirely new HR policies.

IMO, if you really want to send a message to your soon-to-be-former management, save the anger and make them sorry to see you go.

It might make you feel good in the moment, but the angry departure is forgotten by management as soon as you've driven off the parking lot. They really don't care. A dignified departure might at least get you a mention in the executive lunch room that day. Or a few new policy changes.

Just my two cents.

 

[CRLLS]

I will agree that a full-time manager does not always demand a higher pay than his reports. I will say that if he is a working manager, i.e., also a worker bee, then I would expect a higher pay. With 8-10 reports, OP may be a working supervisor.

Even as an hourly worker, with overtime, I sometimes made more than my full-time supervisor/manager. Not on base pay though. As a working supervisor of about 6, I know I made more than my reports.