Everyone wants to have more money, so then why wouldn’t you be taught how to get more money for doing the exact same thing you’re doing now. I mean isn’t the common stereotype of a broke college student all too true for many of us. The problem is we are kind of forced into that stereotype. Just think, with how expensive your tuition is, then the cost of your housing and meal plans, then the expensive textbooks for those classes that you’ve already paid to be in. How could you expect to have any extra money after all of that? So, what do you do? Get a job.
If you want to have any extra money to do anything that you want to do like go out to eat every once in a while, go do something with some friends, or even if you live off camps and have to pay your rent. Money is sometimes a necessity, so if you need more money, what do you do? Ask for more hours, put more time in at work. Now you’re working even more than before (on top of your current hours you’re already putting into your school work), but wait, now you’re over worked. Between your school work and your job you are putting in even more time than usual, and when your over worked and tired, sometimes you mess up. “Among industrial workers, overtime raises the rate of mistakes and safety mishaps by 61%.” (Dembe). And if you’re over worked, you’re under rested. “Longer hours result in lower scores on cognitive performance tests. In other words, you are literally working your employees stupid.” (Virtanen). Would more money be worth that price to you?
So, if the solution isn’t to work more then what is? You still need money, but if working more is going to make you stupid then how productive is that really. Next option asks for a raise. That way you can make more money for the same amount of work that you’re already doing, but then there’s so much pressure about asking for a raise, it terrifies us all. We worry, ‘what if I’m asking for too much. What if this is the most they can offer me.’ Then a good question is, how much is the job you’re doing worth. A good tip would be to actually ask the people that you work with how much they make. I know, scandalous.
In today’s time we have such a stigma on talking about salary that some people are more willing to talking about their sex lives than how much they make. “Employees have the right… to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.” (United States) The National Labor Relations Act gives us the right to talk about our money, so why don’t we. “About 50% of workers say discussing salaries is discouraged or prohibited.” (Hegewisch). Some companies try to keep us from discussing it, but the National Labor Relations Act actually makes it illegal for employers to prohibit us from talking about it.
I know it’s kind of a weird idea but trust me it can really help you or even them. We like to think that how much we make is solely determined by the experience you had going into the job and how good of a worker you are in the position. But honestly, if we continue to consider talking openly about your salary to be taboo then the employer can offer you whatever they want. They’ll pick a number that is good for the company, so they can save money by paying you less because they know you won’t talk to the others you work with about it and compare to theirs.
It takes the power away from the employee and gives it back to the company. Bosses love it when you don’t talk about your salary with other because it tilts pay negotiations in their favor. It’s a concept called information symmetry. If you don’t know what the going rate is for your salary, then it’s easier for the company to rip you off. If you are looking into a job and the employer says they can only offer you $100 per day, then you are probably going to think, ‘well I guess that’s what everyone here makes.’ Then the employer tells the next person that they can only offer them $77 per day. Then they’re likely to think, ‘well I guess that’s what everyone here makes.’ The bottom line is, if you don’t have all the information, you could get scammed big time. Discussing your salary with your coworkers is your right as an employee. When you let these guys stop you from doing it, you push your own wages down. Which mean you’re spending more years of your life slaving away in a job that doesn’t pay you what you’re really worth.
So, talk about your money, ask for a raise, do what you have to do to make your salary meet your needs. But there’s the catch, how do you do it. Up until this point in your life, I doubt you’ve ever actually been taught how to earn the money that you deserve or might even need.
First off, the easiest place to get good money is when you interview for the job. For example, imagine you’ve been offered a job with a $50,000 starting salary, and your goal is to make $65,000. What can you do?
Well, there are a couple different ways to approach it. Always start off by stating how you are excited about the role and the position that you would be working in and state that this is the job that you want. If you do not have any other offers from another work place, …
If you have offers from other employers…
Play yourself up from your skills…
Be confident…
Saying no is an option…
If already employed…
Citations:
Dembe, A E, J B Erickson, R G Delbos, and S M Banks. “The Impact of Overtime and Long Work Hours on Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: New Evidence from the United States.” Occupational ; Environmental Medicine 62.9 (2005): 588-97. BMJ. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd., 8 Mar. 2005. Web.
Virtanen, Marianna, Archana Singh-Manoux, Jane E. Ferrie, David Gimeno, Michael G. Marmot, Marko Elovainio, Markus Jokela, Jussi Vahtera, and Mika Kivimäki. “Long Working Hours and Cognitive Function: The Whitehall II Study.” American Journal of Epidemiology 169.5 (2008): 596-605. Oxford Journals. Oxford University Press, 6 Jan. 2009. Web.
United States. National Labor Relations Act. National Labor Relations Board, n.d. Web.
Hegewisch, Ariane, Claudia Williams, and Robert Drago, Ph.D. “Pay Secrecy and Wage Discrimination.” Institute for Women’s Policy Research 16 (2014): 1-2. Jan. 2014. Web.
