Is my boss walking all over me?? (typical office crap!)

lexnmike4enomore · 21st July 2004, 2:59 PM

Heres the situation. I was hired as a graphic designer for a Printing company. About a year after i was hired, the woman whose job is to asnwers the phones , accounts payable and receivable, data entry, customer service all that secreyary stuff quit. So they said for me to take over her job I didnt take on EVERYTHING she did, everything but the billing part. My boss only gave me a dollar raise. Now i do my graphic design work PLUS almost everything that other woman did, for only a dollar more. Ive been doing this a year so i know what im doing and i do it well in both aspects. Is he walking all over me and taking advatagve of my age, being that im only 21. I mean, im saving him money by not hiring another person to do all that. But my other co-workers say that the way my boss thinks is that a 21 year old should not be making $35,000/year. So if a salesman who is 21 brings in $1,000,000 work of work in a year, and the 50 yeard ols brings in $250,000, hes not going to pay the other guy what he deserves b/c hes only 21???? My bosses wife does the billing now. They said they want to teach me so that my bosses wife doesnt have to come in anymore. That means i will be RUNNING ALMOST THE ENTIRE BUSINESS. I mean i do little **** for them too that bugs me...they'll ask me to mail something for them...don't i do enough....you cant stamp and lick and envelope? Now all this for a measly $19,000/year. Im due for a review in september and if he doesnt give me a substantial raise than i need to know what to say to him to make him realize that age hasnothing to do with this. IM SAVING HIM $35,000/YR BY NOT HIRING ANOTHER WOMAN!

tiki · 21st July 2004, 3:18 PM

You are correct to gripe. They are running you ragged. Do you make it look as such? When your job starts to slide, they will notice. Maybe work on your job being 'covered up' and make it look like things are starting to 'slip'. Then state your point. If you can keep up, you really don't have a lot of ground to stand on. But once they see that the business is lacking because of your busy-ness, then they should hire someone. If not then, give them an ultimatum. By the way, I'm assuming that they are small business owners?

lexnmike4enomore · 21st July 2004, 4:12 PM

yes it is a small business....employ about 12 people. Whenever i do slip on something he asks if theres anything happening in my personal life thats effecting me. Its not often that i slip. i work hard and efficiently. And if i were to say that i have a work over lead he would say to take my time and focus on one thing at a time.

Leikela · 21st July 2004, 4:30 PM

You are most definitely being discriminated against. Just to clarify things, are you working full time? If you are working full time, then I am APPAULED at your salary!!! You could make more working full time at McDonald's!

Also, do you have any formal training for graphic design? Like did you go to school for it? Do you have a degree? If so, then you were being taken advantage of from the beginning. Graphic Designers can make 30K easily. I live in NJ too, so I know what the pay scale is here.

I would voice your concerns to your boss about your salary. That's good that you have a year experience there because the first thing I would be doing is looking for another job and getting paid what I deserve. Some secretaries in NJ alone make 35K. Seriously start looking in the classifieds for other jobs and get an idea of what's out there. If you really like your job and want to stay, then use the other jobs as a bargaining chip to get paid what you're worth. There's no reason to settle for less.

lexnmike4enomore · 21st July 2004, 4:55 PM

He sent me to an institute for design. So i have certifications for that. Even after i took the classes he only gave me 50 cents. I get paid hpurly...im not on salaray

Leikela · 22nd July 2004, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by lexnmike4e
He sent me to an institute for design. So i have certifications for that. Even after i took the classes he only gave me 50 cents. I get paid hpurly...im not on salaray

Then seriously look for another job that is salary. You could be making 30-35K easily. If you're unhappy with your situation, then change it. Good luck to you.

corythosaurus · 22nd July 2004, 10:22 AM

Sounds like you're working at a very small business. Nothing wrong with that, however small businesses typically don't pay that well and the work required for each person is much more than average.

Learn as much as you can, take on as much responsibility as you can handle and still do an excellent job. When your review rolls around and you boss does not remedy the salary issue to your satisfaction, look for another job. Use this current job as a stepping stone and not as long-term employment. Use them as much as they use you. Learn as much as you can and parlay it into a better paying job.

Papillon · 10th August 2004, 6:05 AM

Corythosaurus' reply is very wise. I find myself in a similar situation (my work contract states, black on white, that I am a "Software Developer"). Yet, because I can do these things very well, I've ended up doing graphic design work, web site design and management, marketing work, sales work, copywriting, technical writing, etc, in addition.

My boss is often on my case because my time seems to not yield as much software development as it should, conveniently ignoring all the other things that take up my time and disrupt my timetable.

I've often felt like telling him, screw you, my contracts states software developer, and I'm tired of your bullshyte, from now on my other skills are unavailable to you, and I have a contract that legally backs it up.

Thing is, that would be silly on my part, because in the end I'd only be giving him a reason not to give me a raise. By doing all these other things, I'm making myself irreplacable (relatively speaking, no one is irreplacable).

Increase your value to your company as much as you can. In fact, you should embrace the extra responsibility, because you can put it on you CV for your future roamings....

magda · 15th August 2004, 6:31 AM

Been there... you need a new job offer. Also, word to the wise: don't do the billing without a salary adjustment. What percentage of your day would you estimate you spend doing graphics work? It sounds like he's slowly changing your job title to Admin assistant. But honestly, you're basically -letting him- take advantage of you. Don't be a sucka. what opportunities does this company hold for your future? More little jobs as more people quit for a more reasonable salary? Start looking now before you go crazy - it could take awhile to find something that's a good match for your interests and skill. Also, it sounds like you have a fair amount of job security *snort* so you may as well be open with your boss and try to negotiate a better situation for yourself. When is your next evaluation? Don't let him skip it. During the evaluation try to negotiate a higher salary and a declining amount of secretarial duties in relation to design. Is he not satisfied with your design contributions? What can you do better in this respect? He needs to look at you and think "Graphic Designer," not "young girl do whatever." If he doesn't come around and you're really into design, go elsewhere. It's only worth it to make a low salary if you know you're moving up in the world.

Also, if he's treating you "young" you should really go out of your way to act super mature to make it clear that you'll need to be treated as an adult. He's already inquired if you have "personal problems" of some kind affecting your work performance - maybe this is the result of his perception of mistakes you've made in the past. Talk about this with him maturely; it could've diminished your professional credibility.