When you discover a coworker makes more than you
When you discover a coworker makes more than you
How to determine what happens next
One of the most deflating experiences in the world of work is discovering that a coworker is making more money than you. Maybe you’re hoping all of the pay transparency initiatives and laws will save you from dealing with this sort of injustice. But that may be unrealistic–if anything, it’s now more likely than it used to be that you’ll discover inequities when they exist.
So sooner or later you might have to deal with a situation like what happened to me. I’d been at my market research job with a Big Pharma company for about two years when the new division head instituted a summer internship program that had managed to attract MBA students from some big-name schools.
Though the interns were real go-getters, they weren’t obnoxious. I didn’t feel intimidated by them, and we peacefully co-existed. That is until I heard through the grapevine how much the Ivy League interns were paid.
When I discovered that it was more than loyal, high-performing me, I was pissed. I had more responsibilities than they did, already had my MBA degree, and had the same number of years of work experience. How was this fair? I felt insulted and disrespected.
I went home and fumed to my husband about it, even having a few drinks to try to extinguish the flames of my righteous indignation. As is usually the case, the alcohol didn’t solve anything and only left me with a queasy feeling the next day, which made it harder to go in and complain to my boss about the injustice. But complain I did.
Though I spoke my piece and my boss was sympathetic, he didn’t immediately give me a raise.
So I started looking for another job. Nothing phenomenal surfaced. A few months later, I got a better-than-usual boost in salary at my year-end review.
I wish I could tell you that in the years since my experience, society has come up with a way to ensure the salary disparities never occurred or that when they did, they were guaranteed to be resolved within two weeks. We’re still working on it.
So, how does one deal with a less-than-fair compensation situation? Though it’s not effortless or always comfortable, the solution is relatively straightforward: You advocate for yourself and choose what you determine to be your best available option.
Did it sting to keep working for the employer, who, in a sense, disrespected me by paying the interns more? Sure. It made me feel a “little less than.” (It was even a little hard to write this post because it felt a little embarrassing to recount a story in which I didn’t immediately resolve the situation and come out on top. But that’s real life.)
Am I sorry I didn’t “show them” by quitting soon after discovering the salary injustice perpetrated against me? No. I can’t say I regretted my decision to stay with the company. Though maybe I could have boosted my salary if I had left, I wouldn’t necessarily have improved my overall life.
I worked with a lovely group of people. My boss and more senior colleagues were always good about giving me credit for my work and opportunities to interact with the executive team. I was generally happy going to work every day.
Some of the other Big Pharma companies had the reputation of being real shark tanks, and in the end, I doubt that a higher salary would have been worth the tradeoffs.
Choosing to stay worked out for me. Eventually I shifted to product management, which rounded out my experience and allowed me to get promoted. My long track record with the company later translated into a 10-year-long consulting gig when I stepped out of the full-time workforce.
Was the company wrong to pay the interns more? Hard to say. With some distance from the situation, I can see now that they were likely just paying the market rate for what it took to attract the Ivy Leaguers to our internship program. I doubt they had any intention of intentionally snubbing me.
While it hurt my feelings, I was ultimately responsible for looking out for my best interests. My only recourse was to advocate for myself and, if I wasn’t satisfied with the company’s response, to look for another job that would pay me more.
It was one of those situations you don’t want to be in. But when you are, all you can do is evaluate your available options and choose the one that’s best for you–not just in that moment–but also for the near-term future.
It’s also helpful to remember that most decisions you make about your employment aren’t forever ones. If I stayed at my job and found myself still feeling resentful six or nine months later, it would have been time to do another job search and see what turned up.
If you discover a coworker is making more than you, here are some things to consider:
Recognize that pay inequities can be structural to some degree
New hires often secure a higher salary than existing employees because they’re being hired at the current market rate. If your employer doesn’t regularly adjust pay based on market conditions, longer-term employees are subject to wage compression.
Remember that pay disparities aren’t always unfair or due to discrimination
While wage inequality sometimes happens because of gender discrepancies or racial gaps, differences in pay can have a variety of root causes.
Consider whether there is a legitimate reason why your colleague might be earning more than you–do they have more seniority? More experience? Better educational or other qualifications? Maybe they earned a higher salary at their previous job? Or perhaps they were better at negotiating their salary than you were?
Try to respond rather than react
It’s normal to be pissed off when you find out that somebody is earning more than you, but righteous indignation alone won’t make it better. Your goal should be to get even–not with the employee who’s making more–but in terms of your salary.
Remain calm, cool, and collected. You don’t need to address the situation the day you find out it exists. In fact, it’s probably not in your best interest to deal with it until you are calm enough to respond to it.
Use the tools at your disposal to evaluate whether you’re being treated fairly
Salary transparency laws have been enacted in nine states–California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington. The National Women’s Law Center estimates that more than a quarter of the U.S. labor force is now covered by salary transparency legislation.
And the job search website Indeed says that about 45% of job listings now carry a pay range disclosure. So it’s far easier than it used to be to find out who’s earning what.
If you conclude you’re not being fairly compensated, talk to your boss
If you objectively consider your performance and contributions and conclude you’re not being paid fairly, you need to speak to your boss.
But first you need to prepare. Research how much your role is worth at your company and similar ones via platforms like Glassdoor and LinkedIn. List how you contribute to your team’s success and add value.
Experts suggest that you then come up with a salary increase you’d be satisfied with and state it clearly and firmly during a conversation with your boss.
You will have a stronger argument if you focus on your contributions relative to your compensation rather than on “it’s not fair that you pay so-and-so X and me Y.”
Since managers don’t always have the flexibility to change salaries mid-year, you may want to come armed with suggestions about other incentives, such as additional vacation time, flexible hours, remote work options, etc., that would help keep you happy in the interim.
Think through how you’ll respond if your boss isn’t willing to make adjustments
Conversations like these don’t always conclude in the way we’d prefer. If the answer to your request is “no,” you may need to start looking for other opportunities if the pay disparity continues to bother you.
You may not have been planning a job search, but you may need to initiate one if you can’t achieve a satisfactory resolution.
You can’t entirely control your compensation. But at least once you’re informed, you can control what you do about the situation.
In the olden days, moms used to clip newspaper articles for their kids if they thought it was something they needed to know. I’m watching for things you might have missed that may be helpful to you.
This week’s clips:
Remember the Friends episode that dealt with Ross, Chandler and Monica making more money than Rachel, Joey and Phoebe? (S2, E5) This article discusses how to handle it when friends make more or less money than you.
Can you really manifest your future spouse into your life? A 20-something reports about what happened when she stumbled upon a TikTok creator who encouraged her to pray for her future husband.
Do you really need to leave a tip at a fast-food restaurant? Life Kit explains the new etiquette of tipping (listen or read).