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Negotiating a raise is a delicate subject, isn't it? Almost everyone has experienced how tense the atmosphere gets when you initiate a conversation about your salary with your boss. Of course, some corporations genuinely care about their workers' motivation and happiness, yet there still are quite a few that choose to ignore their employees' needs.

Several days ago, Redditor Wageslave823 made a post about how their request for a higher salary was quickly denied. The CEO said the company simply "can’t afford it" but at the same time, he showed no intention of making sacrifices himself to help out the struggling business.

Apparently, this situation seems to be common since the thread received a deluge of comments where many people shared similar experiences. We have selected the most illuminating responses that prove some bosses are way out-of-touch and believe their luxurious life choices are more valuable than their employees. Read on to see what we mean.

A worker recently shared how they were denied a raise because the company "can’t afford it" while the CEO had no intention of making any big sacrifices himself

Image credits: Hunters Race (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Wageslave823

The thread inspired others to chime in with similar stories

#1

CEO-Living-Luxury-Life-Cant-Afford-Raise

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Caro Caro
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is so true and well said. Your employees must have felt safe and appreciated.

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"When it comes to asking for a raise, it's crucial to define a value one is adding to the company, the reasons for a raise (inflation, extra responsibilities, is it a competitive salary within an industry), and be able to communicate this," Evelina Vilke, a career coach, job search strategist, and personal branding expert, told Bored Panda.

She explained that "lack of willingness to address employees' requests and have discussions around pay rise from senior management demotivates staff and potentially can create a toxic working environment."

When company owners and CEOs rarely put in the effort to understand their staff's wants and needs, it leads to passive, unhappy, and even resentful workers. "One of the reasons why people want to change jobs is to get a pay rise," Vilke added.

#3

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Béla Kun
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We have a saying, the "known devil is always better than an unknown", and I think a lot of ppl think like that.

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#4

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Adam C
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"..new record thanks to you.." , " ..we are family..." , "..our strong culture. We take care of each other" Can I get a raise then? NO

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#5

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Khavrinen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"We all have to make sacrifices -- well, 'all' of us except ME, of course."

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"Sadly, it's still much easier to secure a new role with a significantly higher salary than to get the same pay rise at the organization where a person worked for an extensive period of time. Hopefully, leadership training programs will change this, and more CEOs will understand that employees are the ones that make their company a success."

A recent Pew Research Center survey only proves Vilke’s points. As it turns out, some of the reasons why Americans decided to walk away from their jobs last year were low pay, lack of opportunities for advancement, and feeling disrespected at work. In fact, seeking a higher salary was such a strong motive, 63% of respondents pointed it out as a top cause for why they left their position.

#6

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Quaumsy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sound like a massive d**k, good for OP for finding another job.

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#7

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Random Anon
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah they say, if you don't like it, start your own business. I did. Thing is, I'm not coming from money and contacts. You can only do so much without these "network cables". At the very least, I have more control. But down to it all, there are still "bosses" to answer to. More often than not, these people come from old money which you cannot compete with no matter how hard you work.

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#8

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Helen Haley
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, 'appreciation meals' while being paid less always feels like a slap in the face.

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At the same time, CEOs of the largest firms in the U.S. have seen their pay skyrocket 1,322% since 1978. In contrast, the compensation of the typical worker grew by just 18%. This finding comes from an Economic Policy Institute report, where the authors revealed that CEOs were paid 351 times as much as a common employee in 2020.

"Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality that we could safely do away with," the authors of the report, distinguished fellow Lawrence Mishel and research assistant Jori Kandra, wrote. "CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay and because so much of their pay (more than 80%) is stock-related, not because they are increasing their productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills."

#9

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The Cute Cat
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Jumping to other job is never a guilt. You never hurt anyone for advancing your career.

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Of course, it would be misleading to say that all chief executives show little care or interest in their staff’s lives. You’ve probably heard of stories like the one where the CEO cut his own pay by 90 percent to increase his employees’ wages.

However, "even though there were cases of CEOs sacrificing their salaries to save jobs and/or give employees a raise during a time of crisis, it's not a very common practice," career coach Evelina Vilke told Bored Panda. "The actions of a CEO speak volumes of a leadership style, internal culture, and how invested a company is in its employees and their wellbeing."

#14

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Linda Lee
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember bragging that I got a 4% raise, that was the most most you could get. My retired (Boomer) dad asked "Why so little?" Turns out, his annual raise was 10% or more over his entire career.

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#15

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M Rob
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The CEO of Scholastic book fairs said the same to us... But it was 2%, funny thing most of the employees bought that BS ... As soon as Harry Potter took off. They got VERY greedy

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A marketing communications firm Weber Shandwick, in partnership with KRC Research, released a survey of more than 1,700 executives in 19 markets worldwide. They tried to explore how people perceive a CEO's reputation to better understand what is needed of them today. "Executives believe that their own CEO’s reputation contributes to nearly half of both their company’s reputation (45%) and market value (44%)," the researchers wrote.

#17

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Dachshund32
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They can learn just how to lie into employees faces. With pokerface of course...

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#18

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LittleLiz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't go to the spa because I can't afford their services. Companies shouldn't come to me if they can't afford my services.

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#19

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Flops
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Amazon are just "starting up" (ie. getting bigger/wharehousing here in Australia). I'm hoping our labour laws/protections kick them in the butt....

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They also found that executives value humility as one of the few key attributes a leader should have. "Building CEO reputation is not about enhancing egos or celebrity," they stated in the report. "Humility is now the new green among chief executives, possibly because they’ve all experienced their 15 minutes of shame in addition to their 15 minutes of fame in this tell-all world."

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However, only two in ten executives (22%) describe their CEOs as humble. Since humility is an effective CEO characteristic, we can only hope that there will be an increased number of bosses who can understand, empower, and support those around them.

#20

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Linda Lee
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you can't afford to pay your employees a living wage then you can't afford to be in business, period.

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#21

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Random Anon
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a normal theme since the days where the rich Lord lives in the castle and the serfs live in their mud hovels. People generally see business owners with authority and wealth like some kind of deity.

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#22

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Linda Lee
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most companies go through temp agencies these days. They'll pay the agency nearly double per hour than what the employee makes. And all because they didn't want to give the original, trained, employee a raise. Then the boss can say Nobody wants to work!

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#25

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CCLoos
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is truly one of the factors (not all) in the current inflation problem. Massive, record-breaking profits, with price increases for no reason other than it's what the market will bear. Then blame "inflation."

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#26

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Honu
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This isn't always true. Sometimes a business truly can't. Businesses fail all the time. However, that doesn't mean an employee should accept less than the market rate for their labor. No matter what they say, the vast majority of businesses do not value their employees as people. They are buying labor. We are selling labor. It is a market. Don't believe anything they say about being a family, or loyalty, or sacrifice. That's just them trying to manipulate you. They'll fire you in a heartbeat if it makes financial sense to them. You don't owe them any better than that.

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#27

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Linda Lee
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

2008, the staff of 5 was cut down to 2. We worked 50+ hours a week with no overtime pay because I was on salary. I asked for a raise and was told that I should be thankful that I had a job and reminded that there were 100 people ready to take my job. A month later, I quit but was able to get unemployment benefits due to hostile work environment. They hired two people to replace me.

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#31

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#34

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#35

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Nunya Business
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Two months?!? You demanded a raise after working for only TWO months???