Change Of Focus
I have a friend that has taken on considerable new job responsibilities. Unfortunately, she has not received an increase in pay for those duties and now there exists an inequitable exchange: underpayment for services rendered. I hope she has the wisdom and courage to restore the imbalance.
The ramifications of making a choice to sell time, energy, enthusiasm and creativity for a discounted price (or even worse, no additional compensation) reaches way beyond the new task(s) presently on her desk. These "emergency" or "important" duties are quite fleeting. In six months time, there will be a new drama and this old one will be but a vague memory.
I fear that conducting herself this way will weave itself into the fiber of her character, and will ultimately undermine her identity. When we make choices to back away from courage, it shows up in the most unexpected places, and influences our relationships with family, friends, lovers, finances and most importantly our vibrancy. The effects are awful, and can be seen and felt by everyone.
Society often encourages a man to be assertive in the workplace and labels a woman conducting herself the same, as a "bitch". Certainly, this double standard is not fair, bemoaning the injustice of the mislabel, and playing the role of a victim is the greater crime though. This is but a mere yield sign and not a place to park.
Each of us has the inalienable right to expect, and if necessary, insist on compensation for work performed. There is simply too much at stake to remain silently inactive. Finding the state or quality of mind or spirit that will enable her to face, what I suspect is fear, will reach far beyond the present topic.
Consider the following:
The ramifications of making a choice to sell time, energy, enthusiasm and creativity for a discounted price (or even worse, no additional compensation) reaches way beyond the new task(s) presently on her desk. These "emergency" or "important" duties are quite fleeting. In six months time, there will be a new drama and this old one will be but a vague memory.
I fear that conducting herself this way will weave itself into the fiber of her character, and will ultimately undermine her identity. When we make choices to back away from courage, it shows up in the most unexpected places, and influences our relationships with family, friends, lovers, finances and most importantly our vibrancy. The effects are awful, and can be seen and felt by everyone.
Society often encourages a man to be assertive in the workplace and labels a woman conducting herself the same, as a "bitch". Certainly, this double standard is not fair, bemoaning the injustice of the mislabel, and playing the role of a victim is the greater crime though. This is but a mere yield sign and not a place to park.
Each of us has the inalienable right to expect, and if necessary, insist on compensation for work performed. There is simply too much at stake to remain silently inactive. Finding the state or quality of mind or spirit that will enable her to face, what I suspect is fear, will reach far beyond the present topic.
Consider the following:
- More responsibility equals more pay - period. The construction of a house is at a set and agreed upon price. An additional East Wing would also have a corresponding cost associated with it. Her situation is no different, save the fact that she is not wearing a tool belt.
- Last month the job she was performing was valued at X amount of money. Was she being overpaid during the previous month?
posted by Menen at 1:32 PM
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