"I'm 52 and I've found not a lot of people want to hire someone my age."
THE CLIFF NOTES
PROBLEM | SOLUTION |
My employer does not give any kind of wage/salary increases unless you request a performance review. I requested and received a 5% raise last year and was told not to ask again. | Lauren's response: You are in a destabilizing environment that has created fully abnormal benchmarks of appropriate behavior, and that is why you feel uneasy. It has nothing to do with you. |
Disclaimer: Identities are kept confidential. The advice given here should be taken at your own risk. If you are having true mental or physical issues, please seek professional assistance.
My employer does not give any kind of wage/salary increases unless you request a performance review. I requested and received a 5% raise last year and was told not to ask again. We just received an email today saying our health insurance was going up again. Should I tell my employer that I need to be compensated for the increase, or start anew?
I'm 52 and I've found not a lot of people want to hire someone my age.
Wait, what? You have to request a performance review?
I have admittedly not worked in a whole lot of large companies, so I needed to call in some backup here to find out if this is actually as bonkers as it seems.
For that, I asked some questions of Lauren Lefkowitz, an HR consultant, 20-year veteran of the field and now an executive leadership coach. Her response was direct and to-the-point.
“It is not normal to have to request a performance review. They should be scheduled by your company a minimum of once a year. Compensation should also be reviewed at least once a year. It is also not normal to be told not to ask again…ever?!? You should be able to ask when your work shows you’re doing more than what you were doing last time you asked or enough time has gone by to expect a cost of living increase. None of this is normal.”
Mostly I asked for my own validation because this sounded bananas to me and I wanted to make sure that I was not just missing a huge part of the corporate experience, but I also hope you are taking it to heart. You are in a destabilizing environment that has created fully abnormal benchmarks of appropriate behavior, and that is why you feel uneasy. It has nothing to do with you.
So now my response.
Fuck all of that.
You can ask for a raise whenever you want. They don’t have to give it to you, but you have a mouth and a functioning brain, and I don’t give a damn if they just gave you a raise yesterday.
Things change. Economies change. Cost of living changes. If they gave you a raise just to erase it by raising your healthcare costs, then you not only can, but you SHOULD ask them to make you whole again.
They can say no, but then you at least have your answer.
And can we talk about the infantilizing of telling you not to ask again? That’s what I say to my four year old when she promises she won’t bother me for more chocolate chips when I’ve said this is the last chocolate chip.
It’s not something that you tell to a valued employee who, front the sounds of it, they are likely underpaying.
I hate this whole situation, and I think it’s worth saying that you deserve more.
ALSO ALSO ALSO, 52-year-olds get hired all the time. I don’t know why told you that the job market isn’t interested in you, but that’s not the case.
To be clear, anyone who isn’t interested in you and your more than 10 years left contributing is not a company that you want to work for anyway because they might do weird things like, make you ask for performance reviews and treat you like a toddler who is demanding more chocolate chips.
Ask for the raise, but also, it might be time to look for something better.
L2
That is total garbage! Aside from performance reviews being at minimum yearly, the bit about age isn't true. Not entirely at least. No one is allowed to ask your age, they do not get to have your Date of Birth unless they hire you. They don't get to copy your ID unless they hire you. Unless you are out screaming it from the rooftops, age, especially if you can interview/work remotely shouldn't be as big a hinderance depending on your industry. Sadly, it is true, men, they will hire based on things that have nothing to do with the job requirements but on personal aesthetics. Because they suck! Good luck and find a new job, that place is horrible.