A Penny for Your Work

"You know, you're lucky to even have a job." I was told that by two different supervisors at two different jobs. I quit both jobs after hearing those words. If your boss tells you that you're lucky to work for them, they are telling you that you are replaceable. If they believe that you are replaceable, then they don't appreciate you or the work you do for them.

Prior to Covid, I worked two part-time jobs that I really enjoyed. I was a Guest Artist Coordinator for a non-profit and I was a Behavior Specialist doing ABA with young children. I quit a full-time job to accept these two part-time jobs because these two jobs combined, in theory, would pay me more than my full-time job and give me more free time at home. I eventually had to leave one of the two jobs. The schedules for the two jobs started overlapping.

I really enjoyed being Guest Artist Coordinator because my main job was recruiting and interviewing artists to give workshops at prisons and educational sites. I got to meet actors, reality stars, painters, writers, etc. I met Bria Murphy, a brilliant painter and, also, Eddie Murphy’s daughter. But as much as I loved my job and the opportunities it provided for me, I decided that this was the job I had to leave, not only because my other job provided more hours, but also because this employer didn’t stick to our original agreement of me dedicating only one day a week to them. I regretted this decision when Covid hit.

Guest Artist Coordinator was a work from home job, while I had to go to people’s homes as a Behavior Specialist. I stopped getting any hours for ABA during the lockdown. If I had quit my ABA job, I would’ve still been able to work from home as a Guest Artist Coordinator. But I didn’t do that and I ended up having to apply for unemployment.

I’m not going to lie, I was getting good money from unemployment. In fact, I earned more on unemployment than I earned when I had a full-time job. But I knew that these unemployment payments wouldn’t last forever and looked for work.

I was offered a job as a Mental Health Rehabilitation Specialist in Alpine, CA that paid $23/hour. That was $5/hour more than I was making off my two part-time jobs. But it was an hour and half commute up the mountains.

My girlfriend and I had been talking about moving to the San Diego, CA area, so it seemed like a good opportunity to start with a job in the area. I accepted the offer. Unfortunately, because of my poor credit and debt, I couldn’t qualify for a house in San Diego. But I kept the job.

I drove back and forth (a total of 3 hours a day) to work for a year. I volunteered to stay over when the second shift was short-staffed. I even worked swing shifts (12 pm - 8:30 pm) to help both first and second shifts. I did this without complaints. I knew that I would get a raise on my work anniversary and I hoped that my hard work and sacrifice would be recognized. My work anniversary was on July 28, 2021. And, as I expected, I was called into the HR office to sign paperwork for my merit increase.

When I got to the HR office, the HR assistant went over my paperwork with me and showed me how much my pay would go up. I felt a bit disrespected when I saw that I was being given a raise of only $0.51/hour. I looked at the HR Assistant in disbelief. The HR assistant said, “You don’t have to sign it. You can appeal it and ask for more. Maybe, you can get a dollar more.”

I had never negotiated my salary before. But I felt that 51 extra pennies was below the value of my work and my worth as a staff member. I’d sacrificed a lot for my employer over the past year. I continued showing up to work even though we had a Covid outbreak that affected residents and staff alike. There were plenty of staff members that quit at the onset of the outbreak. I sacrificed quality time and sleep for my job. I dedicated over 11 hours a day to work. I’d wake up at 3:45 am every day, so I can be ready to leave for work by 5:30 am. I’d get home a little after 5 pm. So, no, I wasn’t going to accept a 51-cent raise.

I sent the HR Specialist an email informing her that I believed that I deserved a bigger raise. I highlighted everything I did for the company that others in my position didn’t do or weren’t willing to do. I reminded them that I had a master’s degree and that I was getting paid the same (or less) than some MHRS without a degree and with equal or less experience. I added that similar organizations started their MHRS at $2-3 more than we got paid. I received a prompt reply informing me that my supervisor would be going over the document that officially requests a higher salary.

During the meeting with my supervisor, I repeated all of the reasons I believed I deserved a raise. My supervisor then asked me how much I was hoping to get an hour. I thought about it for a second, then said, “$26 an hour,” believing that I would be offered $24 and that I would then haggle my way to $25 an hour, which I believed was a fair salary.

My supervisor said, “Okay. I’ll submit this to HR tomorrow and hopefully, you’ll hear something by next week.”

I received an email from the HR Specialist on Thursday informing me that she should have an answer by Tuesday.

She sent me another email on Monday telling me that she expected to hear back from Admin by Thursday.

I didn’t hear anything on Thursday, so I emailed the HR Specialist asking for an update early Friday morning. She told me she was going to meet with Admin that afternoon and would let me know what they say. I didn’t hear from her that afternoon.

Finally, on the following Monday, the HR Specialist called me and said, “Hi Jose, I met with Admin on Friday and they agreed to your request.”

“Wait. Do you mean they agreed to the $26?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” she said, “And just to let you know, because of your request and all of the points you made, Alpine will now be starting future MHRS at $25.”

I’ve never gotten such a big increase in one shot. To be honest, I’m still a little shocked that they agreed. I honestly believed that they wouldn’t offer more than $24.

So, if you feel that you are being underappreciated and underpaid at your job, don’t be afraid to ask for a raise. I don’t know if my approach will always work but it is worth a try. It doesn’t hurt to ask.