‘The difference is massive’: Senior employee finds out a coworker is making $16K more than them, asks for a raise which they are denied

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Aug 12, 2023 1:00 PM EDT

Coworkers talk. And I am a firm believer that this is a good thing. It's your right to keep your salary to yourself, but I think there isn't anything wrong with sharing how much you make with fellow coworkers. Companies should have to deal with the repercussions of giving one employee way more than another, despite them both having the same qualifications. In this oh-too-familiar case, OP found out that they were making a whopping 16 THOUSAND dollars less than one of their coworkers, who was working at the company for half the time they were. OP was employed for three years, whereas this coworker was only there for one and a half.

Now, OP wasn't mad that this coworker was making cash… rather, that they weren't making the same amount. Moreover, OP had asked for a raise multiple times after receiving their performance review, which was excellent. So what was with the holdup? This other coworker also asked for a raise, and got a stipend while they waited for HR to 'sort things out'.

What are you going to do in such a situation? Reddit has all the answers, per usual. Scroll down to read OP's entire, detailed description of what was going on, and then the replies that followed. Next, a landlord who lost a lot of money after refusing to pay his tenant's parking ticket after he gave him an expired permit.

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/ShelbyK13 10 hours ago What would you do if you found out your equally matched coworker makes $16K more than you? A
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 02
    Font - Hey friends, TLDR; Had a conversation with my coworker she told me her annual salary, which is $16K more than my annual salary. We are equally matched and I've been at the organization a year and a half longer than she has. I want to leave this
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 03
    Font - job, but I work from home and it gives me mental and physical stability and down moments where I can work on things I love to do, like starting a small online business. I'm not sure if I should stay in this job because it gives me that
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 04
    Font - flexibility or leave this job with the risk of a new job being high stress and bad for my health and aspirations. What're your thoughts? What would you do in this situation? My coworker and I have the same education
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 05
    Font - qualifications, we are the same age, we have the same amount of experience, and I've been at our current workplace for three years whereas she's been there for only a year and a half. Our salaries are fixed and not
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 06
    Font - based on any type of residuals. I work in an entry level position. I asked for a raise and promotion back in March after our performance review where I received an excellent review. I was told that I would
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 07
    Font - be getting a raise, however it would be lower than what I asked for and that I would be put on a "pathway" to help me get the promotion which would lead to a title change and another raise. Six months later I have not received that raise nor have I been given
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 08
    Font - the opportunity to work on things that will help me get the promotion, despite asking multiple times. We work in a big organization (4K+ employees) and the reason the raise approval has not gone through is because the HR department above our department is a mess.
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 09
    Font - The upside to this job is that I work from home which has been positive for my mental and physical health. I'm able to cook during the day, exercise, not have to worry about a big city commute, and have enough energy and time at the end of the day to
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 10
    Font - go hang with friends. Also, inbetween waiting to get work back from others there's downtime where I'm able to work on passion projects, like starting a small online business. So that's been something that I've really appreciated about this job
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 11
    Font - and haven't taken for granted. That being said, today was a big shock. I had no idea how much I was being so over salary wise. I also learned that this coworker was also waiting for a raise to
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 12
    Font - be approved but in the meantime is receiving a stipend to make up for the raise delay, whereas I am not. I'm not quite sure what to do or feel here? I can keep this job and wait for the raise and promotion to come through
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 13
    Font - and continue to have these positive lifestyle aspects and work on my business, or I can take the risk to try and find a new job that may be awful for me - but I honestly don't even know what that would look
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 14
    Font - like or what I want to do next. I just want to be happy you know? If this was you, what would you do in this situation?
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 15
    Font - Also to be clear I've already pushed the raise and promotion concerns to my boss as well as her superior and the hard line is that the HR department above our department doesn't have their stuff together.
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 16
    Font - EDIT: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all of your replies. I definitely did not expect so many people to comment on this. You all have helped me see the situation so much clearer and your insights have helped me learn a lot. So thank you!
    via u/ShelbyK13
  • 17
    Font - thedjbigc 9 hr. ago This is a big enough difference that if you feel you should be getting paid more, you need to make it happen. This is going to be with working with
    via u/thedjbigc
  • 18
    Font - your management team (hopefully though doubtful as you've alluded to asking about this already) or finding another position outside of the company.
    via u/thedjbigc
  • 19
    Font - The big thing is balancing the need for more money with work/life balance. It's a question I've asked myself as well. Should I chase more money or is WFH with the hours I want worth it?
    via u/thedjbigc
  • 20
    Font - Honestly - WFH is a big enough bonus to my life that I do not want to change it unless I was making drastically more. I'm talking like, 25% more. So 60k getting an offer of 75k or more a year for
    via u/thedjbigc
  • 21
    Font - example. I wish you the best of luck. Sometimes mindset is everything here and if you're happy with your work/life balance, are
    via u/thedjbigc
  • 22
    Font - okay with your bills, sometimes just taking the lesser pay is worth more than the hassle of getting another job and all the risk involved around it. Sometimes that risk pays off though too.
    via u/thedjbigc

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management salary boss work from home hr quits stipend coworkers new job raise HR-department career online-business resume quitting
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