Think your job is underpaying? Do your homework
A new Robert Half survey finds that 82% of workers said they feel well-informed about what salary they should be making while 46% said they feel underpaid.
Dora Onyschak, Robert Half's Central Jersey metro market manger, said managers need to understand that there is a ton of information available to workers online. If these workers feel like they're underpaid, employers need to know they could risk losing them as well as the productivity that comes with that turnover.
She said as an employee, research is key. A worker may be feeling underpaid but he or she may actually be getting paid fairly. Maybe it's not a money issue that is making someone unhappy. The survey found 73% of workers are checking salaries against industry resources, up 54% from a similar survey two years ago.
Before asking for more money, Onyschak said the research is really a key component. Find out what are people making with your same skill set set in a similar industry to yours, the value to the company, how long have you been there and what knowledge base do you have. She said all this comes into play when asking for a raise.
Of those who said the economy helped their salary, 34% said their company has offered only small bumps and 31% feel they would have to leave their job to see a significant pay raise.
She said if earning more money is not an option, an employee should ask if the company can offer other perks.
The survey also found more than half of the employees admitted to comparing notes on salaries with each other but Onyschak does not recommend doing this.
"Unless you know that this person's background matches your background, it's really difficult to make a one-one-comparison."
Of the 46% percent who feel underpaid, Onyschak said 50% were women and 41% were men. The key differentiator there is that the survey found men tend to research more as opposed to just feel like their underpaid.
She said an amusing statistic to come out of the survey is that 7% felt they were overpaid.
"I wouldn't recommend sharing that with any of your managers."
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