A Promotion Commotion
Manager: “Congrats, [My Name], you’re getting promoted!”
Me: “Uh… I am?”
Manager: “Yup! Starting January 1st, you’ll be reporting to [Person at corporate HQ]!”
Me: “Is this something to do with the company’s impending sale to new investors?”
Manager: “Ask [Person at corporate HQ] about that.”
I do so, and I’m told by this person that I would be getting a huge increase in work and responsibility with this promotion… but no raise.
I go back to my manager about it:
Me: “Look, the company has been utterly fantastic up to now and has been nothing but supportive for my unique schedule to take care of my son, but if that sale goes off without a sizable raise for me, I’ll be sprinting out the door.”
Manager: “I promise we will have a conversation about it after the sale.”
Me: “No, I want the written promise of the raise in writing now, not just a promise of a conversation.”
Manager: “Come on, [My Name], be reasonable.”
Me: “Asking me to do all this extra work without the promise of a raise is not reasonable. No company gives raises after buying out a subsidiary. They have to find a way to make up the purchase price by squeezing profits out of the purchased company, AND they have little incentive to respect management history from before the purchase. I want that promise, and I want it now.”
Manager: “Leadership needs to avoid rocking the boat before the purchase.”
Me: “If leadership wants to avoid rocking the boat before the purchase, then they are just screwing me over to get a better cash-out for themselves. There is NO situation where giving me a raise a few months before purchase puts the entire purchase at risk. I’ll be doing that sprinting before the end of today if I don’t get that promise, in writing, now.”
I got the promise, and I didn’t sprint. The workload increase was significant, but I was still able to make it work around my unique schedule.
