1. Should I ask for a raise at a company that doesn’t do raises? (#2 at the link)
I have a GREAT update! I took your advice and decided to ask for a raise anyway, after some calculated thought and planning, and it worked! Just today I got my annual letter of employment that includes our salary for next year and it included a 6% merit raise! It also had the 4% across the board raise for everyone, bringing my total yearly raise to 10%!
I started in October with our (1-person) Human Resources department to inquire about the best time of year to ask for a raise, and after she told me that unless I changed job titles it wasn’t likely, she gave me the answer I needed (just after the winter holidays but before our annual salary letters came out) and the correct person with whom I would have to speak. I also talked to my department supervisor in December and let her know I was planning to ask for a 2-3% raise; she encouraged me to ask for more like 8% because the worst they could say is no (here’s to having women in your corner!!).
Two weeks ago, after reading the advice on your site like making a list of reasons I deserve a raise, having a plan for what I was going to say in the meeting, and remembering that it’s TOTALLY normal to ask for a raise, I went and made my case to the boss over all the departments. I started with the good work I’ve done since I’ve been at the company, the new types of work I’m doing and succeeding at, and the positive feedback from my clients. I made my 8% ask at the end of the conversation. Big boss was very nice, gave me some positive reinforcement, and said he couldn’t promise anything but would see what he could do. Obviously it worked because I got at least some of the raise I asked for!
The biggest lesson for me here, is to advocate for yourself – especially as a woman. I was surprised that 3 people, all women and one being my therapist, to whom I mentioned that I was going to ask for a raise cautioned me against it because they were afraid I might be asking too much or would jeopardize my job. My company still doesn’t do yearly evaluations for raises, but as I learned here, never underestimate the power of the ask!
2. Annoying ring tones (#4 at the link)
Thank you so much for answering my question. I’m not sure what kind of response I was looking for other than actually using my words to talk to the coworker with the annoying ringtone. There was a part of me wondering if noisy ringtones were becoming more acceptable in the workplace.
Shortly after getting to work yesterday, her phone went off and it was LOUD! She was not at her desk so I offered to grab her phone or silence it for her. She explained that she would love to silence her phone, but there were some extenuating circumstances which makes putting her phone on silent potentially problematic because of the nature of the calls she can might miss. It made perfect sense to me when she explained her situation. I’ve missed calls and messages when my phone was vibrating right next to me. I asked her if it would be possible to keep her phone on a lower volume, and she happily agreed. I’m so glad I understand her situation better. It does make the ridiculous noise more tolerable. Her phone is set to a much lower volume which makes the tones much less distracting and more tolerable. This is a great example that we should not only speak up when there is a problem, but we also have to be willing to listen.
3. Crawling on the floor at work (#2 at the link)
I have an update on this. It took a little longer than expected because the pandemic surged and we ended up going back to the office in fall of 2022 instead of fall of 2021.
The main thing that happened was that my illness got worse, so that I get dizzy spells more often and sometimes they also affect my speech. However, the greater frequency provided more data, do I was able to identify some triggers, especially certain sounds and motion (like walking down a connecting hallway with background music after getting off the bus). I avoid what triggers I can and wear noise cancelling headphones in the hallway with music, but still have dizzy spells at the building fairly often. I carry a card on my phone so I can explain what’s going on quickly, even if I can’t speak clearly.
I have had one spell bad enough to need to crawl. I was in the hallway with the music before the start of the day with perhaps five people around, none of whom I knew. I was walking erratically, the bystanders came to help, I showed them my card. Then just became unable to stand and had to crawl out of said musical hallway, which is between the bus stop and my desk. Nobody freaked out, but two people did walk along next to me to be sure I got out okay.
That was the turning point for me in terms of being “disabled enough.” Acting on a commenter’s suggestion, I went out and bought collapsible trekking poles. It may look a little weird or over-athletic as opposed to an actual mobility aid, but they do the job. This far, no one has commented on them and I feel much more comfortable in my in-between space.
Thank you.
#raise #company #doesnt #raises #crawling #work #Manager
