Employee doing the work of 2 people asks company for a $40K raise: 'It would cost the company $120K to hire another employee to do my previous job.'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Mar 6, 2026 8:00 PM EST

It doesn't matter if he tells them he's worth $40K more. They're not going to give it to him.

There's an art to asking for a raise. Unless you're getting a promotion, you can't really expect to get too big a raise every year. Or maybe you can, depending on your industry! It really depends on what company you work for. I've known people who have worked for a company for years without even getting a raise to keep up with inflation!  That's the kind of company that you can't justify staying at for a long time, unless you're in a terrible job market and can't find a new position anywhere. 

The best way to get a raise is to ask for a little bit more than you expect to receive, and hope that your employer meets you in the middle with the raise you expect. Anyone who says that there's no harm in asking for too big a raise has never encountered a young professional who has no sense of how much money is reasonable to ask for. If you really want to make $20K more than you made last year, the best way to ensure that is to get a new job. Even if you're going above and beyond at your company, the chance that they have that much wiggle room in the budget to give you such a raise within a year is slim to none.

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  • Vertical waist up portrait of young man in office looking at camera
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The employee in this story knows he's bringing a lot of value to his company. He knows it would cost a lot of money to replace him in his old position, so he's planning to spell out exactly how much he's worth. The only problem is that there's no way he's getting a $40K raise, even though it would benefit him and the company. 

  • Am I crazy for asking for a $40,000 raise?

    Long story short, I got a specialized graduate degree to be able to do my job really well (employer didn't assist with cost of tuition).
    via u/Far_Space_386
  • I ended becoming so efficient at my job that they are promoting me to take my boss's job who is retiring and they are having me do my old job as well.
    via u/Far_Space_386
  • Portrait of a senior man that stands in front of a team of elderly businessman architects that are having a meeting in the office
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The issue is they gave me a raise (I'm salaried) of a couple thousand dollars for essentially doing 2 jobs.
    via u/Far_Space_386
  • I calculated out the cost of what it would be for the company to hire another employee to do my previous job, and it was about $120,000 (salary+benefits).
    via u/Far_Space_386
  • I plan on asking for a $40,000 raise which would be 1/3 of the total value I am saving for the company.
    via u/Far_Space_386
  • In other words, by me sticking around and getting paid $40,000 more the company still saves $80,000 by not having to hire someone else.
    via u/Far_Space_386
  • Close-up of two young men in formalwear shaking hands while sitting in the office
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Also, by me doing these 2 jobs I will be working at least 5-10 hours more per week.
    via u/Far_Space_386
  • Am I looking at this right or am I completely out of touch with reality? Thanks in advance!
    via u/Far_Space_386
  • Bucky2015 >I calculated out the cost of what it would be for the company to hire another employee to do my previous job, and it was about $120,000 (salary+benefits). You'd be surprised how many companies are fine just completely ignoring that point. Did you do any salary research to determine what the market rate is based on job title and responsibilities in your part of the world?
    via u/Bucky2015
  • Fantastic-Owl-2428 You're out of touch unfortunately. Your case is completely logical, but companies would rather f around and find out than give a raise like that.
    via u/Fantastic-Owl-2428
  • Short_Ad3957 What's funny is that they will deny your raise, and when you leave, they will just hire someone for 120k costing them 80k more, along with downtime. This is the way
    via u/Short_Ad3957
  • Late-Dingo-8567 what size is this company? if its large, 0% chance this will work. If its very small and you are actually critical to the operation, possible you will get something. if you'd be happy to get 2-3x the 4 figure raise you got, I think a chance this works out at a small place. if you actually are expecting a 40k raise and the starting place was 'a couple thousand', I'd make sure you are job hunting because you won't end up happy here. I feel you, I'm just offering my perspective afte
    via u/Late-Dingo-8567
  • qwertyorbust I've saved companies millions. I never saw a dime of it. Good luck!
    via u/qwertyorbust
  • owera 1211 Your reasoning wont work at most companies. Whats the market value for your position?
    via u/owera1211
  • funny_funny_business HR usually has salary ranges for positions. It's easier for them to justify another position for $120k than to have one guy "out of range" who is making $160k when the position tops out at $130k. There can be exceptions, but usually you need VPs to sign off on a salary that's a bit more, like $140k if the top was $130k. As others have mentioned though, depends on the size of the company. But if it's a company that has a formal HR department with these standards I wouldn't ex
    via u/funny_funny_business
  • PugLord219 Anytime you come to your employer with the "well I'm saving you $x by doing this person(s)'s job" you are walking in with a losing argument. Highlight your value but don't act like it's some formula - because it isn't.
    via u/PugLord219

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