Keep the Change

Yesterday, my boss at the bank job Sandra called me and my Nigerian co-worker Ola into her office. Usually, when she calls me into her office it’s because I did something wrong. After she told us why she called us in, I would have actually preferred to have been in trouble.

Sandra told us that, because of the good work that we have been doing, she got her bosses to give us a… I can’t even type it without scoffing. Okay, let’s try this again. Because of the good work that we’ve been doing, she got her bosses to give us a 15 cent raise. 15 cents. After four years working the same job, she got me a nice robust 15 cent raise. What made it worse was that she said that she had to fill out a lot of paperwork and haggle with her bosses to give me that raise. Really? I saw Ola looking at me from the corner of my eye. He’s very good at pretending to like something, but this week has been such a mental battle that I just stood there. Then she delivered the kicker: “So now you have the 15 cent raise. You deserve it!” I closed my eyes and walked out of her office without saying a word. (I later returned and thanked her... No need to have my boss as an enemy)

If I ever needed another big reason to get out of working paycheck jobs, this is it. A raise of 15 cents is like telling me that my four years of working here is worth an extra 15 cents. 15 cents... I can’t get it out of my mind. The better thing to do would be to not tell us anything and let the change in pay happen without explanation. It’s nothing to be called into an office for, like it’s a big announcement. Seems strange to be bitching about getting more money, but that’s problem with paycheck work: your worth is based on what you earn. So if my four years of work is worth 15 cents more, it’s actually something that de-motivates me rather than encourages me to do a good/better job.

If it was any other week than this one, I would take the news with a grain of salt and it wouldn’t affect me at all. I might have even put a positive spin on it. I mean, money is money right? But on a week like this where I’m struggling with motivation, a 15 cent raise (which adds up to about $312 per year) isn’t gonna help. I just have to get through this week and next week and then I’ll be alright. Rex pays me back on the 16th so I should be back to normal by then, if one can call it normal. Okay, I’ll try to put a positive spin on it: 15 cent raise is something to someone that doesn’t have work at all. Nope, didn’t help. I need money, and I’m not talking no 15 cents!