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I work for a company where a coworker that is at a lower position than me makes the same money as me. I have 4x more responsibilites than him but yet he makes the same amount. I understand that I may have lowballed my salary but I would like to address this with my employer and HR. What should be my next steps?

Jim G.
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Jack
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2 Answers2

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You are going to want to speak to your manager, and HR, but before you do, do the following.

When you find out your worth, and how in demand you are in the industry, you can arrange a meeting with HR and your manager to see about a bump in salary if what you are being paid goes against what you've researched. Have a solid number you wish to be paid, start a bit higher than that, and come down if need be, but see what you can get that way.

You don't negotiate based on what your coworker is getting, plain and simple. You see what the industry standard is, what the demand is, and where you fit.

If you compare yourself to a coworker, and that coworker is ALSO underpaid, you may still be underpaid. If your coworker is overpaid, you could go in cutting your own throat by making an unreasonable demand.

You want to walk in knowing what you're worth and how hard it will be to find another job because knowing this will allow you to negotiate from a position of strength. You will be able to quote numbers, and, if need be, go somewhere else if you don't get satisfaction. Believe me, HR knows the difference between someone who knows they want more, and someone who knows they are worth more, just by how they hold themselves. Be the one who knows he is worth more.

Old_Lamplighter
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    Was going to write an answer, but I basically would have said exactly this. Your power in negotiations is your ability to walk away to a better paid job somewhere else. If you don't do the research and put the feelers out to see if you can get a better offer somewhere else, then you don't have any power, regardless as to how unjust the situation may feel. – berry120 Feb 02 '20 at 21:08
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    I had a colleague, who would each year do a couple of interviews and get offers then go in to the service manager and come out with a raise... He was the top man in the shop, so if the service manager wanted to keep him he had to raise the pay - not always apparently to the same level as some of the offers but an agreed amount. Going in with correct & solid info wins you the game. But you also have to be prepared to move otherwise you loose all leverage. – Solar Mike Feb 03 '20 at 08:08
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    @SolarMike that sounds like a great way to earn a reputation as someone who needs to be got rid of because they're constantly looking. – dwizum Feb 03 '20 at 14:11
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    @dwizum as I pointed out he was the best in the shop so the manager wanted to keep him... If you want to get rid of the best, most skilled workers so the productivity goes down then you might be having an interesting chat with your manager before long... – Solar Mike Feb 03 '20 at 14:25
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    @dwizum as solar mike said. If you're worth it, you can negotiate – Old_Lamplighter Feb 03 '20 at 14:35
  • Perhaps, but there comes a balancing point at which you start to question staff who behave like this. Your employer should, ideally, have a policy or approach to raises such that actual talent is recognized without the need to do that. If that policy exists, he shouldn't need tricks (so why is he doing them?) If it doesn't exist, and he really is that good, perhaps he should go somewhere where his talent will be recognized (so why is he staying put?) I can't think of a situation where a literal regularly scheduled threat of leaving makes any sense. – dwizum Feb 03 '20 at 14:36
  • To be clear - @RichardSaysReinstateMonica - absolutely, you can negotiate if you're worth it. The point I was objecting to was the practice of holding your employer hostage on a scheduled basis by using outside offers to get a raise. That strikes me as a terrible idea. Sooner or later, someone who tries that is going to have a boss that says, "okay - I can see that you're consistently unhappy with how you're being treated here. If you want money, go ahead and leave." – dwizum Feb 03 '20 at 14:38
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    @dwizum yeah, I wouldn't be pressing my luck either. – Old_Lamplighter Feb 03 '20 at 15:21
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    @dwizium It really depends. There's a massive difference, for example, between walking into a negotiation saying "match this offer or I quit", and walking in saying "I've been looking around to find out what the market rate for my skills and experience is, these are some of the offers I've had" and then having a negotiation with those offers as a starting point. – Kaz Feb 03 '20 at 16:59
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I work for a company where a coworker that is at a lower position than me makes the same money as me.

Stop comparing your compensation package to those of your coworkers. Everyone negotiates their compensation for themselves.

If you feel like this is unfair and/or that you're underpaid then go to your manager and negotiate a raise.

joeqwerty
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    What's wrong with comparing one's compensation to those of other people? Market research is one of the things one does when looking for a job... – Igor G Feb 02 '20 at 21:17
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    @IgorG because unless you're doing the payroll you shouldn't know what they make, and if you think you do, it might be wrong third hand information. Also some places have pay scales, everyone in a division gets the same regardless. – Kilisi Feb 02 '20 at 22:22
  • @IgorG, I agree, but in this context the OP seems to be implying that he's being treated unfairly because he has more responsibility than his coworker and his coworker is being the same as he is, and my point is that it isn't fair or unfair. Each person is responsible for negotiating their own compensation. If the OP isn't being paid what he thinks he deserves then he needs to negotiate a raise on his own merits, not on the fact that his coworker makes the same money for seemingly less responsibility. – joeqwerty Feb 02 '20 at 23:19
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    @IgorG you don't negotiate based on what your coworker is getting, plain and simple. You see what the industry standard is, what the demand is, and where you fit. If you compare yourself to a coworker, and that coworker is ALSO underpaid, you may still be underpaid. If your coworker is overpaid, you could go in cutting your own throat. There's more, but those should be good starts – Old_Lamplighter Feb 02 '20 at 23:52
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    Then this should more clearly say that you should compare on an industry level, not just compared to coworkers. But I see nothing wrong with comparing with coworkers here--even if your company underpays overall, if you have a desire to stay there, you can still make a case for getting a higher pay and they'll probably underpay you less. I want $X because Mrs. Y earns $Z is not going to fly well, but even just knowing that someone with no responsibility earns $Z means you can better gauge how much you can ask for and reasonably expect to receive – Mars Feb 03 '20 at 06:02
  • @RichardSaysReinstateMonica you should edit that comment into your question - the point about not basing a raise request on one coworker's salary is highly relevant. It would be a shame if that got lost in this comment thread. Your salary should be based on the value you are bringing, not on what your coworker gets paid. – dwizum Feb 03 '20 at 14:13
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    @dwizum good idea – Old_Lamplighter Feb 03 '20 at 14:36
  • @RichardSaysReinstateMonica, those are good points! Though coworker's salary isn't a viable reason in negotiation, but knowing that a comparable coworker is paid much more is a good trigger to start the research and negotiation. Mars has already explained this point better. – Igor G Feb 03 '20 at 18:10
  • @IgorG yes, but there's an additional risk with comparing to coworkers, especially in smaller businesses, other factors may be coming into play that could involve HR. It's better to not do direct comparisons to current employees. Imagine if you went in about a coworker getting more money, and it turns out that a special circumstance, such as a family illness, or a death was involved in the pay bump. – Old_Lamplighter Feb 03 '20 at 20:27