Should I just be happy I have a job?

[Pakey]

Well, I can tell you that living in Michigan is indeed living in a pocket of higher unemployment, with no light showing at the end of the tunnel. We are very grateful to be employed and pray for our friends and neighbors to be lucky very soon. Watching this unfold all around us we are painfully aware that at least in our world, a depression is not a farfetched outcome.

Our area has a higher unemployment rate than the national average also and with our water crisis and government deficit, I don't see any tunnel light here either. I think we can all agree that we hope it improves everywhere soon.

 

[Disney Doll]

The company I work for did not give increases last year. We hope to this year. But employees have to keep in mind that while sales might improve, other costs continue to rise. We had a 22% increase in health insurance, a 12% increase in workers comp. These are just two specific items that relate to employee benefits; we won't get into other cost increases. So just in employee costs, we saw a 34% increase without pay increases. We were thrilled that we were able to just keep all of the employees working without doing across the board pay cuts; very few asked about increases (we have several hundred full time employees and a few thousand returning seasonal employees).

And to PP who said that employers do not pay a fair wage, that is not true in our case. I'm guessing that if a poll was done, most people would say they are underpaid. We all want more money and we all like to think we can't be replaced.

JUst a little FYI Pakey...those increases your business is seeing...most people are seeing similar increases in their private budget. So your inability t give people a raise impacts their life with its in cresasing expenses just as much as the rising cost of doing business affects your business's income.

As far as wages...most employers think they pay very fairly and competitively and most employees think they are underpaid. I usually find that both sides are incorrect in their assessment of their generosity or theirworth...depending on which side of the fence one is sitting on.

To the OP...
You have been given a gift here. You have been given the gift of knowing the kind of people you work for. So take that information anduse it to your advantage. Your company sounds like it had been mismanaged prior to your arrival there, your superiors have illustrated to you why you foung the company in such a poor state, you have been able to turn that around somewhat.

So, keep working for your company while you job search, continue to move your company toward success and track it as part of what you will be including on your resume and remember who runs the company and how they run it.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Okay, as an IT Director, my advice will sound a little different. No matter what my personal performance looks like, my success is determined by the performance of my entire team. So, you are the sales and marketing director. Your sales declined. Yes, you did all that you thought that you could do to turn that around, but your boss thinks that you could have done more - that you should have done more.

So, you want a raise 18 months after taking the job (which means that you should still feel fairly compensated or you would not have taken the job at this salary so short a time period ago), even though you missed your sales goals for the company?

You need to focus on the things that you can do to produce better numbers in 2010 instead of worrying about a raise. Why? Because you might lose this job if you do not. And you need to find out what your boss' expectations are with respect your work hours, as you seem to be missing that mark, too.

Directors are held to a higher standard. We are paid with that in mind. Not to sound too harsh, but you need to start acting like you are the director that will turn this around instead of an employee only concerned about your personal income/feelings.

 

[Carly_Roach]

The US unemployement is not at 20%. If it was we would probably be in a depression right now. At the height of the Great Depression unemployment was at 25%.

We are about 10% (I don't know the exact numbers this week) with pockets of higher and lower unemployment.

The figures you are quoting are those people who are currently on the unemployment rolls. It doesn't count those who have exhausted their benefits and are still unemployed.

Well, I can tell you that living in Michigan is indeed living in a pocket of higher unemployment, with no light showing at the end of the tunnel. We are very grateful to be employed and pray for our friends and neighbors to be lucky very soon. Watching this unfold all around us we are painfully aware that at least in our world, a depression is not a farfetched outcome.

Exactly. I know of many people who've exhausted their unemployment and have rolled off the rolls. They're not employed - they're just not counted anymore.

Threads like this and the ones that will be hitting the DIS later on this year are written by people who are shocked at things happening to them that we've simply gotten used to here in Michigan. Employers doing dishonest and outright nasty things to their workers (which led to the unionization of workers in the first place) is an issue that not many people who post here have dealt with.

Yet.

 

[Carly_Roach]

Okay, as an IT Director, my advice will sound a little different. No matter what my personal performance looks like, my success is determined by the performance of my entire team. So, you are the sales and marketing director. Your sales declined. Yes, you did all that you thought that you could do to turn that around, but your boss thinks that you could have done more - that you should have done more.

So, you want a raise 18 months after taking the job (which means that you should still feel fairly compensated or you would not have taken the job at this salary so short a time period ago), even though you missed your sales goals for the company?

You need to focus on the things that you can do to produce better numbers in 2010 instead of worrying about a raise. Why? Because you might lose this job if you do not. And you need to find out what your boss' expectations are with respect your work hours, as you seem to be missing that mark, too.

Directors are held to a higher standard. We are paid with that in mind. Not to sound too harsh, but you need to start acting like you are the director that will turn this around instead of an employee only concerned about your personal income/feelings.

Uh huh. Did you happy to miss this particular bit of data in preparation for your finger-wagging?

I immediately put together an agressive marketing plan that I hoped would help stem the tide. Unfortunately, my employer was in complete denial and would only allow me to do about half of what I proposed.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Uh huh. Did you happy to miss this particular bit of data in preparation for your finger-wagging?

I did not. I am a director. I know that this really doesn't matter. A failed plan, no matter how carefully constructed, is still a failed plan.

Edited to add - I am not wagging my finger at the OP. He/she is free to ignore my message. But there is a difference in expectation that comes along with the fat paycheck. The buck stops with you...

 

[jrmasm]

My wage is probably competitive. But, I do expect to receive annual increases. I've never had a job where I didn't get an annual increase and typically they've been high (4% or better annually) because I'm a good employee.

Do you not give annual reviews and increases?



I've never had a raise at this job... which is why I finally asked for one.

I don't know anyone that has gotten a raise in the last few years unless is was from a union contract. Why are you so special?

 

[wdwfan16]

The figures you are quoting are those people who are currently on the unemployment rolls. It doesn't count those who have exhausted their benefits and are still unemployed.
Exactly. I know of many people who've exhausted their unemployment and have rolled off the rolls. They're not employed - they're just not counted anymore.

Threads like this and the ones that will be hitting the DIS later on this year are written by people who are shocked at things happening to them that we've simply gotten used to here in Michigan. Employers doing dishonest and outright nasty things to their workers (which led to the unionization of workers in the first place) is an issue that not many people who post here have dealt with.

Yet.

Congress did not extend th 2/28 deadline, so only this week will people be moving off the rolls. Many have been on the rolls for 2 years.

The AFL/CIO lost 10% membership in 2009. This is why they are pushing for a new stock sales tax. They would be the biggest beneficiaries of that new tax.

Sorry to break it to you but MI is not the first state to have this problem. Many before them have had it and MI did not give a rats patootie about those states. Where was MI when the steel workers lost their union jobs. Vacationing at thier DVC or vacation home. They did not care that buying cheaper steel from Korea would hur the US steel workers. It ment more profits for them and they went for it. Seems like MI did the same thing that Wall Street did. Now MI is pissed that they are getting screwed. So may MI should not be shocked.

 

[Kathi OD]

Congress did not extend th 2/28 deadline, so only this week will people be moving off the rolls. Many have been on the rolls for 2 years.

The AFL/CIO lost 10% membership in 2009. This is why they are pushing for a new stock sales tax. They would be the biggest beneficiaries of that new tax.

Sorry to break it to you but MI is not the first state to have this problem. Many before them have had it and MI did not give a rats patootie about those states. Where was MI when the steel workers lost their union jobs. Vacationing at thier DVC or vacation home. They did not care that buying cheaper steel from Korea would hur the US steel workers. It ment more profits for them and they went for it. Seems like MI did the same thing that Wall Street did. Now MI is pissed that they are getting screwed. So may MI should not be shocked.

In actuality, Congress did extend the 2/28 date (for 30 days). However, people have been moving off the unemployment rolls. Just because the date is extended, doesn't mean that you can't exhaust your benefits. As of today, Congress has authorized 99 weeks of unemployment. If you've been unemployed for over 99 weeks, you've been moved off the rolls and are no longer counted. There are many parts of the country where the economy is so bad, that it is not unusual for people to be unemployed for over 99 weeks.

Additionally, people who are underemployed are also not included in the unemployment figures. The true unemployment rate is higher than the 10% rate we see in the media. I've read that in some places it is close to 25%.