I live, write, and garden in the PNW with my husband of 27 years, disabled daughter, college-aged son, and my 84-year-old mother. We have paid off $250,000.00 worth of debt (if you include the interest) in the last fifteen years and as of 6/12/2020 are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!See? Sometimes there is a reason I don't trust what people tell me. Especially the second time. Fool me once, shame on you, try to fool me twice and you're not going to be able to do it, because I'm not going to trust a word you have to say ever again. I go with my gut because it's never been wrong. Good thing I did that this time and didn't get my hopes up, because I was right. I didn't crash down because of it.
I will be fine tomorrow. I will be my old self. I will face the world with cheerfulness and remember that I am blessed with so much in my life. But today, I get the poison out of my system and I rant.
Oh, wait a minute. You're coming in on the middle of the conversation. Am I in the mood to share today? Let's see, there's sarcasm, annoyance, irritation and just a hint of bitterness thrown in. Something for everyone. Ah, well, enter at your own risk.
Let's just say the promotion DH was promised, the one with the contract that was to be signed today, went up in smoke. Oh, he would have gotten it if the company (A) his company (B) subcontracts to hadn't changed their mind at the very last minute and pulled funding for the job that was supposed to start this week. They said. His immediate boss and the immediate boss's boss are both pretty p.o.'d at company A. They said. So the job no longer exists. They said. They're going to try again to get it funded in another couple of months. They said. They still want him in that positon. They said. He can still "help out" in that position as needed at his new regular rate. He obviously keeps his current job and hope that they can find a new alternate. He can still train a new alternate if they find one (again) at his new regular rate. Joy. DH really doesn't seem to mind.
Meanwhile, the bosses are both so scared DH is going to walk that they managed to get him a raise. You know, the one they wouldn't give at the beginning of the year because no one was getting them, despite the fact that he had been promised it the year before? The one that should have brought him up to $3 an hour below the industry starting range for a comparable position at any other company up there for the position he's been in for 12 years. (It hasn't always been below standard, just the last couple of years). After all, his most recent alternate just walked for that very same reason and into a job that pays industry standard.
Well, I shouldn't be so irritated about this because the net on this raise will be $800 a month. We will still be able to buy a new to us car. We will still be able to put $100 a month in the EF and add an extra $200 to paying off debt. And that is great. It is wonderful. I am very happy about that. I don't want to sound the least bit ungrateful about that because it really does help us out. And DH loves his job and he loves the people he works with even if he is undervalued compared to industry standards, and they know it. Working with people you like and enjoying what you do is incredibly important to DH.
But...
With the promotion it would have been a raise (net) of $2000 a month. Yes, $2000. Net. A month. $500 a month to the EF, $400 a month for a car payment. $1100 a month extra to debt repayment. Dust in the wind.
Maybe more than a hint of bitter.
Everything Must Come to Dust
April 11th, 2007 at 04:01 am
April 11th, 2007 at 12:17 pm 1176293836
April 11th, 2007 at 12:31 pm 1176294706
April 11th, 2007 at 01:20 pm 1176297638
Hang in there! Hopefully everything pans out to your advantage.
April 11th, 2007 at 01:43 pm 1176299011
April 11th, 2007 at 02:42 pm 1176302538
April 12th, 2007 at 03:12 am 1176347566
Its not a bad idea to focus on what you did get, but the Lady MacBeth in me would gently remind your DH that other workplaces in his field have nice people too. And if they pay industry standard, that would mean that they value their employees and the job they do.
I can't shake the feeling that this whole thing was a loyalty test. They underpay him now and he accepts it, it means that they can eternally underpay him. And if company A is that tight, well, how good a shape can they be in?
I think to make you feel a little bit better and perhaps get him to think about other options, offer as a writer to update his resume. Since he did get the pay raise and is excited about it, its a good time to do it while success is at the top, and since you're doing it it doesn't have to be a hairpulling production. And then its time to quietly network.