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A new co-worker is making more than me. Do I talk to my manager?
I hope you ladies are able to help me, I have only been lurking a few days.
I work as a laboratory technician in the Food Safety industry. I have a B.S in biology and have had a solid work history since I graduated in 2006. I was speaking with a new employee at work on Friday and it came to my attention that he makes more money than I do. I am pretty upset about this and would like to speak to our lab manager about it, but I am not sure how to go about it (and even if I should talk to him). Has anyone ever been in a similar situation? Did you discuss with the manager or just let it go? Any advice is welcome.
TIA
Re: A new co-worker is making more than me. Do I talk to my manager?
Most companies actually prohibit coworkers from discussing their salaries. So if you do bring it up you could very well be fired. Your coworker simply did a better job negotiating than you. Also you don't know everything that was a factor in the salary they gave this person.
Whatever you do, you DO NOT TELL THEM that you know how much your coworker makes. It's highly inappropriate for you to know this. And you have to realize that simply working there longer doesn't always = higher salary.
A few factors that may be at play:
- he may be a better negotiator and got them up higher
- he may have experience that you aren't aware of that led to the higher salary
And also:
- a "joke" at my old company - in order to get a decent raise, you had to quit, leave, and then apply for a job later on and get back in at a higher salary. They never gave big raises to existing employee's. it was only after leaving and coming back did people get big bump ups.
If you really believe you're underpaid and deserve more $$, the put together an arguement as to why then talk to your manager about this. Show them based on your own merits why you should get a raise.
Leave your CW out of this. But also put some thought into this- what if they say "no", or give you less than you want? What are you going to do?
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
Not anymore. There was a very recent change in this law that protects you from being fired for this. But I woud not go to my manager about this. It is confidential info and you do not have all the facts.
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
Interesting to know!
Basically all of this.
I'm also curious as to how you found this information out. How do you know that it is accurate and that this person is telling the truth? Maybe other coworkers thought it would be funny to see you get uptight about it if they know it's an issue for you. Or maybe this person was just flufffing it up a bit so you didn't know what they made or didn't want you to know the truth.
Thank you so much for all the responses! I was thinking that it would look really childish of me to go to my manager and I definately do not want that to look like that.
There were a few mistakes on my part when I got hired, in that I did not negotiate my wage at all (big mistake on my part). The assistant manager basically said this is what a Lab Tech I makes, so I did not think that I could negotiate. My goal was to get a promotion as soon as possible but a Lab Tech II position may not open up for another year.
Again thank you very much for all your help. I really do appreciate it.
I don't think it is illegal, but they can still fire you for any or no reason, and I assume you are at will, so that matters.
But yes, he probably did better at negotiating, or there is something you don't know about that got him a better salary. It is extremely inappropriate to bring this up.
I had a situation where my position was restructured, and so new hires were making more. They gave me a raise after I put in two weeks (not for this reason, I had no clue) and they said I would've gotten the increase at my annual review anyway, but I was getting it 9 months early. Small possibility this is the case, but you can negotiate a raise at your review for valid reasons (and cw making more is not valid).
Before you found out the coworker was making more, did you feel like you were underpaid? If so, you should be addressing it already. If not, is this something worth going to the mat over?
My recommendation would be to do some research on your industry and your pay relative to it. Find out if you're underpaid, or if this person sweet-talked themselves into a deal. Armed with this information, go to your boss and explain what you could be making elsewhere and ask what it would take to be making that salary at your current job. I assume you will catch your boss off-guard and he will give you a flimsy excuse why he can't. Let him, but request a schedule for a re-review of the merits of your argument in writing/email. And be sure to track your kudos and accomplishments, as well as your professional growth and training for when that day comes so you can prove it. Good luck!
This. I recently learned I make more than my manager based on salary. However, I opted out of the health insurance, and other benefits offered by the company based on the fact that I'm already covered by DH's policy. Because I opted out I was able to go with a higher salary. My manager has a much nicer set up as far as insurance and her retirement match from the company.