Happy Anniversary To Me

It’s official, it was technically official on July 1st, but it has been confirmed today. You see, July 1st was two years, to the day, that my last raise went into effect.

This means that my second paycheque in July (as in tomorrow’s paycheque) is two years to the day as to when the last time I received a paycheque with a raise on it.

As it happens sometimes, the boss left my paycheque on my desk this morning. This is good as it allows me a bit of time to finalize my budget for the upcoming payperiod. 

All in all, I like my job and I like my boss. I do believe in a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay. I try my best to live up to my end of that bargain.

To me, this means that as an employee, it is my responsibly to be productive and somehow bring value to the company that I work for each day that I work.

In return, I expect to be fairly compensated. This is the company’s end of that bargain.

I will be fair and say that I do make okay money. That is not the issue, however, the issue is inflation and the ever increasing cost of living.

What is happening to me, happens to many employees, and I call it the “Amortization of the Employee.” 

In a nutshell, to Amortize something (as in an asset) is to steadily write it off over time.

In the case of Amortizing an Employee, what you do is not give them a raise, or not give them a raise which is in keeping with the regional increase in the cost of living (inflation).

As we all know, if you are not getting an annual cost of living increase, you are working for less currency, as your dollars can now buy less stuff.

Yet at the same time the employee (generally) is worth more to the company as time moves forward. The can do their job: quicker, with greater skill, and more efficiently.

This means that over time they return ever greater value for the currency spent on them. As well, it is much more costly to train a new employee, if you lose the experienced one.

I know that if I ask for a raise from my boss I will get a lecture on the trials and tribulations of a small business owner.

I will get a guilt trip on (between the lines) that I am being greedy, and perhaps thrown in for good measure “you don’t need a raise, you live in a trailer, your expenses are low.”

I downgraded my lifestyle so I could do more with less in order to get my finances in order as well as improve my life, both fiscally and practically. 

I did not do so, so I could save the company currency. I mean, I am a dedicated employee, but not THAT dedicated.

If I were to go to the boss and say “wow, my expenses just shot up because I bought a bunch of stuff, how about a big fat raise to cover that?”

The boss would rightfully say “your expenses are not my problem, you deal with it on your own.”

So I am not annoyed that this raise has not happened, not because I need the raise but that a (regional) cost of living increase (at least) should be the law, and automatic.

There are those who will say that such cost of living increases will just ramp up inflation and crash the economy. 

To them I say: why should the lowly employee always absorb inflation and constantly work for less, while steadily increasing in value to the company?

I will persevere and succeed regardless. I just wanted to shed some light on an issue that affects more than a few employees.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive and keep moving forward!