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Top 8 Myths About Salary Raises

Top Myths About Salary Raises

Going after a pay raise can be an intimidating task. That’s probably why so many of us never ask for salary increases. However, when people buy into the many myths about salary raises, they are only holding themselves back. Here are some of the most common myths and the truth behind them.

Top 8 Myths About Salary Raises

1. Employees are entitled to annual raises.

Unfortunately, there are no labor laws that entitle employees to annual raises. While it may be customary to give annual increases or bonuses, there are no guarantees. The only instance in which an employer must increase wages is when mandated by minimum wage increases. If either the federal or state minimum wage increases on an annual basis, then an employee would be legally entitled to a salary raise every year. Although many states have been consistently increasing the minimum wage, the federal minimum rate hasn’t gone up since 2009.

2. If an employer says you are eligible for a promotion after 6 months, then by law it must happen.

During the interview process, many employees will discuss the timeline it takes to promote within the company. However, if your employer states that you will be eligible for a promotion after six months, they may simply be stating the company policy in which employees are eligible for promotions. This does not mean you will automatically receive a promotion as soon as you are eligible, unless it is explicitly written into your contract. If an employer offers quick promotions as an incentive, you should take it as something to aspire to, not an expectation.

3. Your superiors track when you are due for a raise/promotion.

Although you may play a crucial role in your work environment, that doesn’t mean your superiors track your raises and promotions. Unless you have a legal entitlement in an employment contract, some employers won’t always offer salary increases from year to year. It’s in the company’s best interest to keep labor costs down. However, that shouldn’t stop you from going after a raise.

By taking on more responsibility and demonstrating your value to the company can earn you a salary bump. But, if you never speak up, no one will ever know your intentions or desire for a raise. If your superiors see your potential and ambition to advance, most companies encourage promotion from within. And, they will gladly pay you more for filling leadership roles.

4. During a salary negotiation, your boss is your adversary.

One of the biggest myths about salary raises is that your boss is your adversary during negotiations. If you are a valuable employee, they will see you as an asset, not an adversary. Even though they represent corporate interests, that doesn’t mean you are automatically at odds. In fact, retaining and promoting valuable employees would put you on the same side.

Most companies are not as greedy or miserly as we would like to believe. If you can demonstrate that you deserve a raise, they will happily give it to you when it’s within reason. But like all business proposals, you should still prepare what you want to say and rehearse it before you make the actual request.

5. The best time to ask for a raise is during your annual review.

Contrary to what you might have heard, you shouldn’t wait for your annual review to ask for a raise. If you wait for your boss to announce your raise during your evaluation, it’s already too late. Budgets have already been allocated and salaries fixed for the next fiscal year. Therefore, you should try to do it earlier. If possible you should ask the quarter before your evaluation, after completing a major project, or solving a difficult issue. Timing is important, so use important professional moments and successes to your advantage.

6. Everyone is on the same playing field.

Another of the most common myths about salary raises is that everyone in the same position earns the same salary. It isn’t a level playing field, and employers pay each person what they feel they are worth to the company. Your qualifications and prior experience may entitle you to a higher salary.

The key to successful negotiations is knowing your worth. If you aren’t certain what the average salary for your position is, you can check online resources to get an idea of what other professionals with the same job title earn with other companies. Keep in mind that these are general guidelines for each position.

7. You should ask for a specific figure.

Another mistake people make when asking for a raise is giving an exact figure. If you ask for a specific amount, you pigeonhole yourself in it. Instead, give them a range of how much more money you are asking for. And, it’s always better to aim higher than your goal to leave room for negotiation.

8. If it doesn’t happen now, it never will.

Just because your boss denies your request now doesn’t mean that you will never get a raise in the future. Perhaps there are financial difficulties you aren’t aware of or it just isn’t in the budget. If it’s only an issue of money, you can also negotiate for better benefits that have value beyond your paycheck.

When you ask for a raise, remember to be patient. Your boss may need time to review the decision. And, you don’t want to put yourself at a disadvantage by presenting them with an ultimatum. Although you should prepare yourself for a negative response, don’t let it keep you from trying again when circumstances are more favorable.

Now that you are aware of the most common myths about salary raises, you can better avoid the pitfalls of salary negotiations. With a little preparation and awareness of your self-worth, you should have no trouble going after your professional ambitions. And, remember that even if you fail the first time, persistence pays off.

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Why We Need to End Tipping Culture

Why We Need to End Tipping Culture

When you become an expat and choose to live abroad, you begin to question certain cultural norms. Growing up in America, tipping is an ingrained custom that is often questioned by outsiders.  In fact, some cultures consider tipping offensive. It implies that you assume the server doesn’t earn enough to support themselves. However, for American servers, this is a reality. Since restaurants can pay their staff below minimum wage, servers depend on their customers to supplement their income. Unfortunately, this leaves people in a vulnerable position and susceptible to discriminatory practices. Here are just a few reasons why we need to end tipping culture in America.

Working for Less than Minimum Wage

As a former server, let me tell you what it’s like to work for less than minimum wage. In my state, the minimum wage is $9.00 an hour. But, restaurants only pay you $2.13 an hour. Because we rely on tipping culture, they expect your tips to cover the difference between the actual minimum wage and the pittance they pay you.

In most cases, servers and front house staff will usually make much more than this because of tips. When I worked as a server and bartender, there were some nights I would walk out with over $200 from a six hour shift. Other nights, I would have to work doubles and maintain grueling hours just to break the minimum wage threshold. It depended on several factors such as the kind of restaurant, day of the week, major events in the city, and your customers. With this kind of inconsistency, it made it difficult to budget, and some months, to pay the bills.

Tipping Culture Undercuts Livable and Fair Wages

Although we typically associate tipping culture with the restaurant and food service industry, it has become expected for nearly every service imaginable. Not only do we tip wait staff, but also our hair dressers, taxi drivers, baby sitters, dog walkers, landscapers, and doormen, just to name a few. Tipping no longer reflects the quality of service. Instead, it shows that employers place the burden on their customers rather than pay their staff fair wages.

Standard tipping culture requires 15-20% gratuity. However, the amount servers earn is completely subjective to the customer’s mood. So, if you are serving someone who already has a bias toward you, it will negatively impact your livelihood. Since those in the service industry must rely on tips, it leaves them more vulnerable to discrimination and harassment. Unfortunately, we are still facing biases based on race, sex, age, and other social factors.

When their salaries depend on compensation from customers, it can facilitate an environment where serving staff must choose between their ethics and their paychecks. I can recall dozens of times in which I was told to ‘brush off’ unwanted advances or else be punished by not receiving a tip. Asking someone to violate their principles shows how little we value them as people or care how it affects them personally or financially. Every human being deserves to be treated with dignity. And that begins by paying them fair wages.

End Tipping Culture to Hold Employers Accountable

Recently, there has been some momentum to end tipping culture. Spurred on by restaurants like Joe’s Crab Shack, some eateries have attempted to eliminate it by automatically including gratuity and service fees. However, tipping is deeply ingrained in the American mindset. People would rather put that extra dollar towards a tip than increased menu prices. In fact, they abandoned this model and returned to tipping because their online ratings dropped. Even though the final cost for their meal was approximately the same, people feel they have more control if they can determine how much they leave for their servers.

While tips have been enough to sustain servers in the past, COVID-19 has revealed several fatal flaws in the system. It has impacted food service workers more than any other industry because people stopped dining in and leaving tips. In some areas of the country, foot traffic is down 60% which in turn directly affects food service workers’ ability to support themselves. Although they are still required to perform the same work, their primary source of income no longer sees the need to leave a tip unless there is a face-to-face interaction.

Instead of complaining that people should return to work and be happy to receive any wages, it is time to hold employers accountable to their staff. If the restaurant and bar industry want to see their workers return, they need some guarantee that they will receive a steady salary to cover their cost of living.

Adopting More Sustainable Models

A few states, like California and Washington have already eliminated tip credit. But, many restaurants that tried to transition away from tipping culture have reverted back to this model. Since it is a cultural norm that doesn’t appear to be going away, we need to normalize sustainable models that ensure livable wages.

Some restaurants have implemented new models that show promise. First, restaurants could offer the best of both worlds. They could pay servers full minimum wage with tips on top. Another option is to keep menu prices the same, but include an automatic and separate service charge for their staff. One of the most progressive models I came across was a salary based on sales. Servers earn a percentage of individual sales and kitchen staff earned a percentage of the total shift sales. Owners who adopted this pay scale said their employees were more incentivized to provide better and faster service. Since the idea is based on the fact that if you sell more, then you can earn more, everyone is more motivated to work more efficiently. Finally, the federal and state governments could offer tax breaks or incentives to business owners who adopt no-tipping models.

If we want to change the public’s perception of tipping, we need to have everyone on board. It starts by having a reason for people to change. Because at the end of the day, the high earning days can’t justify the lows. Everyone deserves the ability to make a fair and steady wage. But, there will never be change until people see that the system is broken and demand better.

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Ways to Get Paid by Writing Songs

Ways to Get Paid by Writing Songs

If you have a talent for writing songs, chances are you have been dissuaded from pursuing a career in music. Many people do not consider it a lucrative venture or stable employment. However, most songwriters are not doing it for the money. The good news is that there are ways to get paid by writing songs. If you are passionate and driven, here is how serious writers generate income from their music.

Earn Royalties for Writing Songs

Royalties are the primary source of generating income for songwriters. Songs earn royalties each time someone uses, plays, or performs them. It includes every time your work gets radio play or when there is a public performance. Royalties encompasses everything from the song’s use on TV to the sale of sheet music. While some ‘old school’ sources of royalties have become less common today, there are new ways to get paid by writing songs.

The constant technological advancement has also created new ways to generate money. In the digital age, you can also make a lot of money through download and streaming royalties. You can then sell your songs to music libraries and distribute them through music services like Amazon Music, Google Play and iTunes. People and companies must pay a synchronization license fee to use your music in commercials, movies, or TV series as well. Furthermore, you can generate mechanical royalties from companies that manufacture a product using your song. In such an interconnected society, there are many ways to get your music out there.

 Paid Public Performances

Don’t forget that you also get paid when your music is performed. Your music generates live performance royalties for each public performance. You earn royalties from ticket holders as well as each time someone publicly plays a recording of your song. The amount of money you make though varies greatly. Negotiations between the venue and the Performing Rights Organization will ultimately determine how much you earn. Be sure to register all your songs and set lists to ensure you get paid by writing songs.

If you are lucky, you may broker a deal with a publishing company that will pay you advances. This allows songwriters time and space to create without the pressure to get paid by writing songs. For those with even greater ambitions, you can also look into starting your own record label. Increased number of performances and artists equates to more money in your pocket.

Get Your Name Out There by Writing Songs

If you want to break into the music world, the most important thing is to get your name out there. Start producing your music and post it everywhere. Use every medium that is available to you. You can even take the initiative to write a brief and approach companies to pitch your songs. The more exposure you get and more internet traffic you create, the more likely it is to connect with someone who can help you advance your career. The only way to become successful is such a competitive industry is through persistence and constant self promotion.

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