Screw your performance-based raise - Just be Grateful you Have a Job!

Mergers. Ugh. The last time I heard that word was 5 years ago, now here I am again hearing it from some new guy in a suit, hoping he doesn't "slash and burn" the old company and heave me and my fellow co-workers out on our collective butts.

But that won't happen, at this point anyway. The company is one month into this take-over/merger and whoever is left can probably feel pretty safe for now. For those of us on the side that was taken-over the questions around vacation, salary and all things HR are cropping up. We've heard from three executives now and each one talks about how profitable the company will be now that we are one company. Great. Except they say this to the people who have had three years of broken promises when it comes to cost of living increases, salary raises and even internal training. The people who are left have come in day after day, worked our butts off to bring the clients what they want and keeping our jobs was our big reward. Now we're being asked to not only continue to do that, but do it at a lower salary than those who do the same job for the company that "bought" us and we get to work more hours. But apparently we should feel good about this, because we still have our jobs.

Part of me sighs, yeah, I should be grateful. Heck, even my mother-in-law echoed that statement when we briefly talked about it, she said I'm lucky that I still have a job. Well yes, never mind I've worked on over 15 different projects, designed and led the team to develop the world's first wireless virtual training device, and wrote an internationally published white paper on the topic of virtual education...yes. I should be grateful I still have my job at the pay I had three years ago. Yup. Really. Grateful.

The part of me (my mother's side) says: NO!!! No! I've worked on over 15 different projects, designed and led the team to develop the world's first wireless virtual training device, and wrote an internationally published white paper on the topic of virtual education damn it-where the hell is my performance-based pay raise? I have been an integral part of keeping this company afloat and its clients happy for over six years and I want four weeks vacation!

But it's a tricky line to walk in the corporate culture. Ask for too much and you're a greedy, egotistically bit**, ask for nothing and you get nothing. So my meek and mild side usually wins out in these cases, hence why I'm on the losing side of this merger.

On the bright side, I do have an interview this week....