Read this quote: Employers will pay the minimum it takes for the employee not to quit. Employees will do the least they can without getting fired.
It’s true. Also, this goes for pretty much any profession.
What can you learn from this? A few things in my opinion.
Get paid by results, not time worked
If you’re getting paid by time worked, you’re wasting your time. You are not incentivized to get the work done quickly because then you’ll be paid less or you’ll be assigned more work. Do you really want to waste your only life’s time? Get paid by results so that you are rewarded for doing the job faster and not wasting any time. You will be happy and your employer will be too.
I am a freelancer and that’s how it works for me. I don’t accept getting paid by time worked. The client is not paying me for spending x of my time on their project, they are paying me for bringing x results. And it shouldn’t be any of their concerns how long it takes me to achieve it, only how much it is worth to them.
Have options, or you’re not getting a raise
Literally, make a list of options. What can you do if you lose your job? Have multiple paths clear in your mind. Why? Because then you can increase the “minimum it takes for you not to quit”. And that means that either your current employer will pay you more, and trust me chances are they can and will do that without much difficulty, or you’ll get another job that’s better paid. Probably you won’t have to resort to your options, but having them is a very valuable tool.
In negotiations, a party’s power is only given by their options.
Of course, there is a limit to how much a company is able to pay you, but most of the time you’re not quite there. Why? Because you’re better than 6 months ago when you accepted that deal, also because your boss is a better negotiator than you are so the deal is in their favor!
Conclusion
Thanks for reading, let me know if you have any thoughts about this!
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