I have talked about getting more money in a previous post, but let’s talk about how little money retail workers actually make. I know there is a minimum wage set for each state and in Wisconsin, where I live, it is $7.25. Now does that seem like a livable wage to you? I know most people who are paid this are teenagers with a very minimal amount of bills, but to people like me who had a lot of bills as a teenager, this is not enough.
I know there are yearly raises which sounds amazing, but wait! Do you know how little we get bumped up? Let’s say it’s no where near the amount that I work for. I worked at a company for almost three years and I could’t wait for my yearly raise, but it was a max of $0.50 and that’s on the high end of raises!!! I once received an $0.11 raise. This isn’t given for good work or if the manager likes you, it’s what the company gives everyone. Do companies really think these pennies they are giving us enough?
I know it can be hard for some companies to give huge raises due to a high amount of employees, but they also need to think about a competitive wage so they do not lose employees. Iv’e worked with many people who quit because they found a job who pays them higher. There are no incentives, no bonuses and barely any raises. I have also been in the position when a manager gets a bonus because they hit the sales goals, but the employees get nothing. I wasn’t a full time manager, so I also did not get one. These kinds of programs makes you not want to work hard. A manager once told me they won a cruise for hitting sales goals, but do you think they are the ones who actually made the sales? No! It is always the lower level employee who do the hard work with no return.
We work a lot harder than we should for the little money we receive. Let’s raise minimum wage and make the work place more enjoyable.
