Inflation and the Responsibility of an Employer

[Alpine_Sapper]

Man. Good luck on those raises. I can tell you 2.5% to 3.0% is about the norm. And not many companies offer a raise for the successful completion of a class. If you have an employer that delivers those, stay with them because not many do. Especially in today's environment.

I know. I've become spoiled working for my current employer. And it's not the successful completion of a class, but a newly attained certification. Tech certs are like gold on a resume. But not only is it passing the cert test, it's passing an additional company test to move to the next pay bracket. But if you passed the test, the only additional info will be company specific policies. Anyone can say, sure, I know linux, yada yada. They may even be able to throw out enough buzz words and grasp enough basic concepts to bs their way through the interview. But having a certification is like having a degree...It's something from an accredited institute that says "Yes, Apline Sapper does indeed know what he says he knows." Stamped and verified, here's his serial number. It's impressive to customers when the company can say, out of 200 support technicians, we have 180 RHCE's, or MCSE's, or whatever the case may be. In fact, it's more impressive when you can say you have more certified engineer's on this piece of soft/hardware than the company that develops it.

[Sam Reeves]

And obviously you don't know what you're talking about. I have my own company, and I make sure the people that help me run it are compensated as fairly as I am. without them, it wouldn't exist.

Actually without the owner/founder the company wouldn't exist. I hope you are in business ten years from now.

[Beo]

Actually a cost of living raise is just and fair to anyone in the work force, problem is fair and just isn't a lot of employers problems when it comes to paying wages as long as they meet the minimum wage requirement, and our military is grossly underpaid as our teachers and law enforcement.

[crashdive123]

I think an important thing to remember in a discussion like this is the job. Is it your job? I say no it's not. It's the employers job and you are the person filling it. I agree with the comment that you are "owed" nothing but what is agreed upon when you started working for a particular employer. I just kind of chuckle when I hear the comment "well it's my job". No it's not.

[trax]

I believe whatever is "owed" on either part should be clearly defined at the initiation of the job. I'm selling a specific set of skills, the employer I'm selling them to should be the best price I could get at the time. Inclusive with that skill set is a promise to apply those skills to accomplish tasks that the employer needs to have done. It is the employer's job, I've been contracted to fulfill those tasks for any number of reasons that are the employer's, possibly time constraints on the employers part. As an employer, or as the employer's on site representative, do I owe more to my staff because the cost of living is rising? Nope. We have a deal. Should I offer more to employees? Probably, at least the ones I want to keep. It's good management practice, so are bonuses, but I'm not in a position where I can offer them to the people I'd like to offer them to. I'm in a situation where salaries are pre-determined by funding arrangements with a lot of different agencies, so even if I want to, I'm stuck.

There is also the employee's responsibility to perform those duties, and apply those skills which the employer purchased. Oftentimes in this day and age it can be very difficult to get rid of someone who doesn't, so can I take money back from that person? Nope, same difficulties exist.

[Rick]

Cost of Living Allowances are terribly misleading in a lot of cases. While they are often tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) there is nothing that says they have to be. In fact, there are a lot of ways to calculate the base for COLAs. While they sound tempting on the surface there are a few things that need to be considered when a COLA is offered. 1. Most wages have increased faster than cost of living expenses so wage increases would actually be higher without the COLA. 2. Most COLAs are backward looking, that is they try to establish what the rate WAS not what it is projected to be, which is what you will have to pay. 3. They are almost always considered on a pre-tax basis, which means you truly never accrue the actual cost of living but the cost of living minus your tax rate. 4. The rate of increase can project you into another tax rate table, which will really negate any benefits or gains you would have otherwise seen. 5. Some COLA increases are nothing more than periodic raises with no discernible base and therefore no true relationship to actual cost of living and, 6. While it is not likely in the foreseeable future, should the cost of living go down you would have to give up some of your wages.

It's the old adage, "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it."

[Beo]

So what is your take on gooberment jobs Crash, such as police, fire, and the such? Should they get a cost of living raise at the end of the contract years even if the gooberment, local, state, or federal say no.

[Beo]

So you guys don't believe in COLAs? Hmmmm. Well mine are contracted yearly raises, thank God for that.

[trax]

My take on a lot of jobs is that governments needs to be shaken up side down by the ankles to get some sense into them. Those jobs include police, firefighters, emt's, teachers. I've always said a whole lot of budgets need to be totally revamped and revisited, we never seem to put our money where our priorities should be.

[Rick]

I agree with Trax. The very folks we depend on the most are the very folks we have a reluctance to enrich. Teachers (what's more precious than our children?!), First Responders (I COULD give you CPR but since you don't believe in COLAs...), Police, Fire, etc.

I think we should take all the money lawyers collect and divvy it up to the above mentioned folks. Whadda think, Ken?

[Beo]

Now the cost of living as of right now in the US has gone up quite a bit, and the employer expects the employee to do the same job (if the company is gaining and growing even more work) for the same amount of pay, not right to the employee. As your company grows and the work load increases and more responsibilities are given to the worker and he or she does a great job then is he or she suitable for a raise be it COLA or otherwise, and should the employer expect the employee to do more work for the same pay?

[trax]

The cost of living is going up for the employer too, partner. If the employee is doing more work, then yeah, more money, but same job=same pay. Unfortunate, but what you going to do? Cost of living going up doesn't necessarily mean that the employer has the resources to offer raises.

[Rick]

The reverse is also true. If the employee receives a raise shouldn't the employer expect greater productivity?

[trax]

The reverse is also true. If the employee receives a raise shouldn't the employer expect greater productivity?

Ah ha! And in some instances, how does that even get measured? And in a lot of instances, it's been shown that greater productivity because of a raise usually fizzles out after about two weeks and then, same old same old back to the grind thinking.

[Rick]

Actually, GE proved that any change in the work environment created an increase in productivity. (Their old increase the light trick, remember that one). I used to make changes every couple of weeks to keep productivity high. No, actually I just liked screwin' with everybody.

[Beo]

If you pay more then you should expcet better and more performance, but if you give more work should the worker get more pay?
I say yes.

[Rick]

If it were only an ideal world.

There is a well known ratio in business called the 80/20 rule. 80% of the work is given to 20% of the people. We tend to give the work to those employees we trust and know will deliver rather than the deadbeats that just take up space.

[Beo]

There's also the act of firing the lazy azzes.

[Rick]

You've never dealt with HR have you? Human Resources is actually composed of Zombies. Individuals that have no brain function yet still continue to exist.

I had a young lady that had a severe drug problem. We had placed her on probation twice and had set her up for intervention through the employee assistance program (HR would not authorize dismissal). The morning she was to report to the detox center she was AWOL. She called a couple of hours later and said her grandmother had died and she was in Mississippi.

"I need the phone number where you are so I can call you back and verify." I told her.
"I'm at a pay phone and there isn't any number on it."
"Then you need to find one. Exactly where are you in Mississippi?"
"About 30 miles south of Biloxi."
"What's the name of the boat you're on?"
"What?"
"If you are 30 miles south of Biloxi then you're in the middle of the Gulf."

I fired her.

[Sam Reeves]

There's also the act of firing the lazy azzes.

Yep. Dead weight drags everybody down.