Q & A Table of Contents
I Work A Full Day, But Get Paid Only Half
From: Vasanti, India
Question: I have taken up a part-time job with a company near my house as a consultant and am paid a salary for a part-time job that is 9-1 PM.
Now the work is on an average from 9 to 4 PM.
How do I cope ?
I feel really bad to work at half day salary for more time. Help...Advice
Response: This sounds like a situation where you need to think in advance about what is in your best interest. If you need the job and don't feel confident you can find another which is as conveniently located or offers other benefits comparable to this one, that can mean your pursuit of a fairer pay situation may be more difficult. On the other hand, if the company needs your services more than you need the company, the balance of power is more in your favor.
If you negotiated pay based on so much money per hour, then you can make a fairly obvious case to support increased pay due to increased hours. On the other hand, if you accepted the work as a consultant whose job it is to yield a specified work product, then it may be more difficult to improve your situation.
Unless your contract (whether written or oral) locks you into a limited amount of pay no matter how much you work, there are a variety of steps you can take:
Find out whether other people doing similar work within your company or in other companies in the same business sector are paid the way you are or according to a different approach. If everyone in your position is paid the same way as you are paid now, you have to assess your capacity to assert yourself.
One approach could be to say: "My time is valuable to me as a professional. Unless I am compensated fairly, I will feel devalued and thus less motivated."
However less extreme approaches might work better: If there is a scheduled review of your work, then raising the issue of pay at that time is perfectly normal. Of course first you should get an indication from your supervisor(s) that you and your work are appreciated. If they are pleased with your work you can say, "I am glad you are pleased with my work Unfortunately I am not pleased with my pay."
If there is no performance review scheduled, perhaps you should ask for periodic reviews. These could present opportunities to raise the payment issue.
The longer you accept a bad situation, the more difficult it will be to get it changed. If people think it is easy to take advantage of you, the longer you give them reason to believe it, the harder it will be to change their minds.
You do need to find out whether you and your work are valued by your supervisors -- but it is even more important to look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that your value to yourself is not entirely divorced from your self-respect as reflected in your professional life: if you are well-treated, it will feed that self-respect. Sell yourself on yourself. Sell yourself on the value you bring to your job. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to come up with a detailed presentation for your boss; if the belief is inside you, expressing it and demonstrating it will come naturally.
Good luck. Don't let the company take unfair advantage.
Steve
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