Heavy Question

[Ironman]

I realize this is my first post so please forgive the seriousness of this topic but from my research this forum seems to be the best place to ask it.

 

I'm an in house viz guy, I've been doing this for over 10 years and I always thought I had it pretty good until the economy started falling apart in 2008. Since then I've seen the amount of work I do go through the roof while my pay has stayed at the same level. I like the place I work and I don't think anyone here is purposefully trying to take advantage of me but the facts are that I feel like I'm being underpaid. I've been keeping track of my workload since I've been here and if things stay the way they are I will have done 80% more work this year than I did the last. In addition my firm has not given anyone a cost of living raise in over two years and just recently stopped their retirement match. We have experienced one layoff this year which removed about 20% of our total workforce but according to management we are back in the black or should be by year's end.

 

So I'm left with a dilemma, I've seen my workload almost doubled in 12 months and if this were any other time I'd march into the bosses office and demand an equally large increase in my pay, however things are economically unsteady and I'm afraid they'd just turn a deaf ear and tell me to be thankful I still have a job. How would you deal with this problem?

[luckytohaveher]

This is typical for the industry and really typical across the board right now. I have a friend who is under paid, but am certain those deficiency is keeping someone else in the office employed. In other words, we are all on 'teams' -- and sometimes you are keeping another alive.

 

I would be rather conservative with challenges, frustrations, and $. Being under employed is much better than not being employed at all. Be patient...

 

I had this challenge in the past -- and for some reason, my productivity fell off. I am not quite sure why... After a while, the total work load was adjusted, but unless there is a push back of some kind, why wouldn't they just keep on pilling on'. There is hard and soft power. I would recommend a little soft power at this point. Work hard, but don't forget about the value of the Golden Eggs!

[Ironman]

Thanks luckytohaveher I appreciate your input, so what your saying is they know they are underpaying me but their doing it so they can keep someone else employed? I understand this and am somewhat sympathetic but only to a point, how long can I let a situation like this go on if it's already been over 2 years? If I never call them on it then eventually I'll loose any argument I can create and I'll just end up with a permanent heavy workload.

[BVI]

Hey Tom,

 

They should at least pay you an inflationairy increase every year. I know the US inflation rate is pegged pretty low, but reality is that the cost of living does go up year on year. So in essence they are paying you less every year.

 

I wouldnt recommend putting anything in writing just yet, a casual chat with the person who makes the decisions might be a better idea. I think the process in which the company creates 3D renderings is also important. If they run a production line, where each person does a small part (ie model, texture etc) then they will probably see you as a cog in the engine and therefor responsible for whatever work load is put in front of you. However, if you are taking an image from the start to the end, then you will definatly have a case for a pay hike. Maybe you could propose a performance incentive, as in; each rendering you complete and is signed off by the client is worth a $100 bonus or something similar?

[Brodie Geers]

I tend to agree with BVI. Does your company do yearly reviews or periodic cost of living wage increases or anything like that? Those provide an opportune time to discuss those sorts of issues. If they don't have anything setup, perhaps you could request one. That could be a good way to work your way into the topic of compensation.

[Ironman]

if you are taking an image from the start to the end, then you will definatly have a case for a pay hike. Maybe you could propose a performance incentive,

 

I don't usually model the project but I am responsible for everything else, with the amount of work they expect there's no way I could do the modeling. Just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about by the end of this year I will have completed over 110 unique renderings, that doesn't count re-rendering a project because of changes. I will have also completed approximately 32 animations, most of which are just part of the design package or animations we do for presentations at interviews. Out of the 32 animations 3 were high end projects that we were paid for separately for, the total contract amounts for all three were about $60K. In contrast last year I did 61 unique renderings and roughly the same number of animations although there were less high end ones. So this year I've produced 80% more rendering work than I did the year before, no one is aware of this fact besides my self as I work independently inside the firm most of the time. I do have a direct boss but as I do projects for all the different teams many times he is unaware of what I'm doing.

 

 

I tend to agree with BVI. Does your company do yearly reviews or periodic cost of living wage increases or anything like that? Those provide an opportune time to discuss those sorts of issues. If they don't have anything setup, perhaps you could request one. That could be a good way to work your way into the topic of compensation.

 

Yes we have yearly reviews but due to the economy for the last two years they have frozen all pay raises and any bonuses we get have been severely cut. These are cost cutting measures in order to keep the company in the black, I understand this but due to the fact that my work load has increased so much I feel that I have moved out of the cost of living increase and into a salary adjustment. If you were to compare the hours I worked this year to last you'd see about a 25% increase.

[Brodie Geers]

With numbers like that, it seems hard to believe that your company has been so affected by the downturn that it can't afford pay raises and bonuses. It sounds like it may be a good idea to go over it with them, presenting those facts if need be. One compromise you may consider, if they stick to the current policy of no raises/bonuses would be to come to some agreement when that policy ends - perhaps a discussion of backpay, in the way of a bonus, or a pre-agreed upon future salary.

[Iain Denby]

Perhaps your current workload is what you're really paid for, and last year you had it easy? Just playing devil's advocate.

[Ironman]

No my last pay adjustment was two years ago when my numbers were significantly lower. I was thinking that maybe I should show them how much they would pay a freelancer to do the same amount of work.