Personal Finance: Should I Ask for a Raise During Covid?

Photographer: Franck Fife/AFP

The standard knowledge is that it is best to ask your supervisor for a pay increase yearly. But worry of rejection may be sufficient of a motive to keep away from elevating the query. Throughout a pandemic it appears even tougher to suppose such a request could be welcomed.

However does this imply we should always forgo negotiating and asking for what we’ve earned this yr? Completely not. 

Knowledge from the Worldwide Labour Group show that the Covid-related job losses are already miserable wages, with girls usually being the worst hit. It’s true that many corporations spent the primary half of 2020 reducing prices wherever they may. So it’s straightforward to know why anybody could hesitate to ask for extra compensation proper now.

However right here’s the factor: Employers will nonetheless pay for high expertise.

I used to be laid off on the finish of March this yr and located myself job-hunting within the U.Okay. at a time when tech jobs had been hardly ample. However what I discovered fascinating was that the open roles I found had been keen to pay on the top-end of market charge. For full-time affords I acquired, I negotiated up as common and met no resistance. The identical is true for the consulting work I took on whereas I used to be job-hunting. 

The truth that I used to be in a position to efficiently push again on corporations providing work confirmed me that even in these making an attempt occasions, employers are nonetheless keen to spend on securing expertise. U.Okay. corporations legally required to report gender pay information have an additional incentive to make sure that girls aren’t underpaid relative to males.

However it matters how you go about negotiating. Making a convincing case is essential, and there are some things you need to remember as you put together.

Leverage your elevated tasks. I’ve spoken to plenty of skilled girls within the U.Okay. who’ve been in a position to leverage pandemic-induced adjustments, resembling their roles evolving to incorporate extra accountability, to barter a extra senior job title and even a pay bump. They made the case that to be able to excel, they’d should be compensated accordingly. Maybe they had been the fortunate few, however these examples are useful case research of what may be achieved.

A lot of us have discovered ourselves making an attempt to do extra with much less in our jobs. Whereas corporations are doing their utmost to serve prospects and obtain bold objectives, we the workers are placing within the work to show targets into actuality. 

Don’t let that work go unnoticed. It’ll serve you properly to create a compelling narrative about how you have responded through the pandemic. Take your improve in tasks and higher possession in stride. Make it clear you’re dedicated to proceed delivering — and that you ought to be compensated the market charge for what you ship. Articulate {that a} pay bump will assure elevated motivation and outcomes.

Make a behavior of discussing comp throughout your annual efficiency assessment. Many individuals don’t convey up cash throughout their evaluations. However that is the time to current outcomes you’ve achieved and to reveal the place you could have added worth. Honest compensation needs to be a part of the dialog.