This Business and Moment...

[LuckyBenski]

Have been working at a multinational company just over 2.5 years. Work in a role support function for a growing area of business . All trackable metrics in my area are up in terms of number of people in the business I support, revenue, client volume, regions of expansion. It is almost a 100% increases YoY on these metrics which I have been holding down. I work hard. Originally had focus on certain region, my knowledge and insights has me now involved globally just because nobody else has the same level of insights . Originally however started on a lower title to my peers and as a result paid less. Colleagues overlook far less.

I have been pretty disgruntled on pay and workload and it has been picked up and in doing so my bosses have proposed a change of title to that of my peers along but with me picking up a direct and indirect report and a more global role to influence the wider business. The standard job title description says no direct reports - ive been told to ignore this. The increase is low double digits. The increase is also bringing me more aligned with my peers who don't have direct reports. My bosses are arguing that it is a pay increase. My argument is that it is a change of job role/title/responsibilities and should not be seen as a straight increase. Ive raised twice and pushed back expecting more but the conversation ended quite frosty.

How would you view/ approach / what would be a fair £x to expect to manage a DR in London?

I had a similar pay increase when going from developer to managing our test lab, at the time managing 2 DRs. Think they offered 12.x% and when I demanded more they added 1k to make it 14%. "This is the top pay for this band" - in a new role with no equivalent in the company. What ****ing band.

I'm still sore about the pay versus massively increased level of responsibility, stress, now managing 4 people, overload etc etc. But ultimately it was poor negotiation on my part i.e. I should have walked. I've since asked for a pay review and a flexible working review and been stonewalled with a smile. This year I'm likely to start showing up 4 days a week and my boss can do what he likes.

So it sort of depends how attached you are to the role I suppose. Can you suggest that if they don't accommodate your requests, you will start working to the same level as your pay grade?

 

[currantloaf]

I had a similar pay increase when going from developer to managing our test lab, at the time managing 2 DRs. Think they offered 12.x% and when I demanded more they added 1k to make it 14%. "This is the top pay for this band" - in a new role with no equivalent in the company. What ****ing band.

I'm still sore about the pay versus massively increased level of responsibility, stress, now managing 4 people, overload etc etc. But ultimately it was poor negotiation on my part i.e. I should have walked. I've since asked for a pay review and a flexible working review and been stonewalled with a smile. This year I'm likely to start showing up 4 days a week and my boss can do what he likes.

So it sort of depends how attached you are to the role I suppose. Can you suggest that if they don't accommodate your requests, you will start working to the same level as your pay grade?

Thanks for reply. Your experience does seem very similar. My request was 15.5% and change to particular title, was offered 12% and change to same team title is a reduction. It has been assumed I have taken this even though I had asked to speak later when I had the chance to review.

I like the company, my business colleagues and what I am working on. That is the sucker. But don't think I am getting paid fairly. I don't understand what would be the logic in having a disgruntled employee over what is in real terms a rounding error.

 

[LuckyBenski]

Thanks for reply. Your experience does seem very similar. My request was 15.5% and change to particular title, was offered 12% and change to same team title is a reduction. It has been assumed I have taken this even though I had asked to speak later when I had the chance to review.

I like the company, my business colleagues and what I am working on. That is the sucker. But don't think I am getting paid fairly. I don't understand what would be the logic in having a disgruntled employee over what is in real terms a rounding error.

Completely relate. I like the people and the work (although we've all been overworked for 18 months now). When I look at how much money we waste/could save with more efficient methods, it seems mad not to pay me a few grand more to keep me happy.

 

[EvilRob]

Everyone knows that you get the experience in your current workplace and cash it in at the next one. Don't be sore, it's an investment that will pay off hugely if you play it right.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

I would have a quiet word with HR and other members of the board w.r.t company policy to new parents not being an ****.

I'm surprised that new dads don't get time off for 1-2 weeks. Then into WFH/parttime office.

We get two weeks off and it's paid, thank ****. But yes, I could have done with the WFH/part time office. It all went through HR, who I believe advocates well for us.

I wish I'd just spoken to my boss myself.

Anyway, we get 13 days per quarter at home and I'll use them how I want to - I'm WFH this morning to take my wife to an appointment.

 

[-westy-]

So my parent company (Smiths Group) has announced that they are selling, or demerging my company (Smiths Detection), to focus on "core technologies". Could be an interesting couple of years coming up..

 

[malachi]

Think Im going walk out my job soon before my end date of 30th Feb.

Since they called me into the office to basically sack me in October, I haven't been doing much apart from letting the guys in India take over.

Today I was working from home and my boss asked me about a quote for some servers, we always do video calls and he could see I was at home. I work in the office most of the time, its 1hr on the train, to the office and back.

He sent me an email saying. As its my last month in Feb, he wants me to be in the office 5 days a week to an handover?!!? I thinking to myself why? I have been doing that remotely to the Indian team since November and they haven't hired anyone in the office to replacement me So I have no one to physically do a handover to.

So he wants me to be at my desk, basically doing nothing apart the odd shoulder tap "oh, my laptop isn't working"

 

[OspreyO]

Weird month. We had a significant outage on system, and it was all hands to the wheel. Then I realized it wasn't all hands to the wheel, the majority of people/managers were furiously organizing meetings to talk about the outage. Creating action points and ticking check boxes. By the time they'd done that a couple of us, had mostly recovered the issue.

The amount of meetings where I heard nothing about recovering from the issue, and all about it being someone else's responsibility was just mind blowing. It was a light blub moment, that its not the place it used to, in the past everyone would have worked together on something like this. Not anymore.

 

[OspreyO]

Think Im going walk out my job soon before my end date of 30th Feb.

Since they called me into the office to basically sack me in October, I haven't been doing much apart from letting the guys in India take over.

Today I was working from home and my boss asked me about a quote for some servers, we always do video calls and he could see I was at home. I work in the office most of the time, its 1hr on the train, to the office and back.

He sent me an email saying. As its my last month in Feb, he wants me to be in the office 5 days a week to an handover?!!? I thinking to myself why? I have been doing that remotely to the Indian team since November and they haven't hired anyone in the office to replacement me So I have no one to physically do a handover to.

So he wants me to be at my desk, basically doing nothing apart the odd shoulder tap "oh, my laptop isn't working"

I've been in that situation. Its very weird. I had to spend a month basically doing nothing one time.

 

[Rroff]

Weird month. We had a significant outage on system, and it was all hands to the wheel. Then I realized it wasn't all hands to the wheel, the majority of people/managers were furiously organizing meetings to talk about the outage. Creating action points and ticking check boxes. By the time they'd done that a couple of us, had mostly recovered the issue.

The amount of meetings where I heard nothing about recovering from the issue, and all about it being someone else's responsibility was just mind blowing. It was a light blub moment, that its not the place it used to, in the past everyone would have worked together on something like this. Not anymore.

It is like this everywhere these days sadly.

 

[OspreyO]

It is like this everywhere these days sadly.

I thought it was just certain peoples tendency to micromanage, or just some people were very poor managers. Now I realise its more like 80%+ are doing this. My opinion of them has just fallen through the floor. I feel like I'm living that movie "..they live..."

 

[Rroff]

I thought it was just certain peoples tendency to micromanage, or just some people were very poor managers. Now I realise its more like 80%+ are doing this. My opinion of them has just fallen through the floor. I feel like I'm living that movie "..they live..."

I find it more common than not these days sadly - people will spend a lot of time talking about doing something but trying to avoid actually taking any responsibility.