A career strategist has revealed how your company is fooling you into thinking you’re getting a raise.
Kyyah Abdul, the founder of consulting firm Career Wildeshares work advice with her more than 160,000 followers on TikTok and recently went viral when she called on companies to position a two to four percent salary increase as a pay raise.
“(It’s) not a raise. We call that a cost-of-living adjustment,” she began in her TikTok videowhich had over 1.7 million views at the time of writing.
The next step above that is usually a merit raise, where they pay you for your performance over the past year, continues Kyyah of Los Angeles.
Career strategist Kyyah Abdul has sued companies for positioning a two to four percent salary increase as a wage increase
She said this two to four percent increase was not an increase. “We call that a cost-of-living adjustment,” Kyyah added
“And that generally ranges somewhere between five and nine percent,” she said.
“But a real increase or promotion will be between 10 and 20 percent.
“And that’s why people are always job hopping, because companies think those little two to four percent salary increases mean something.
“With the cost of inflation, I’m sorry, two to three percent won’t cut it if they want to retain talent.”
Kyyah explains it further in a video on her YouTube channel titled: A 1-4% salary increase is NOT AN INCREASE, IT’S A DEMOTION.
“If a company gives you a three percent raise and they say, ‘Congratulations.’ Congratulate me on what?” she asked.
“Inflation is nine percent, which basically means I’m taking six percent off my base salary.
“Also in the context of a lot of companies reporting record earnings, so that whole idea that companies just can’t give people a nine percent pay raise to match inflation, I just don’t think so.”
The video has been viewed more than 1.7 million times on TikTok and breaks down the percentages companies should pay as earnings raises and promotions
The U.S. Labor Department reported that inflation was 6.4 percent last month.
January was the seventh month in a row in which annual inflation fell from a peak of more than nine percent this summer.
The 6.4 percent figure for January is the lowest inflation rate since October 2021, but it also represented a smaller decline than expected based on the December figure, leading some economists to fear the battle against rising prices could stall.
In her YouTube video, the job expert also clarified that she didn’t think her criticism applied to small businesses.
“I don’t think small businesses should feel like they have to give everyone a 10 to 20 percent raise, especially when they’re barely making ends meet,” she said.
Big companies can probably afford it, but having said that, not everyone deserves (that) pay rise.
“Some people who have decided to quietly shut down because they’re either doing less than what’s expected of them, or are just really rolling out, at the bare minimum, not exceeding expectations… they shouldn’t expect to get (that) raise.” get, that makes sense.
“An earnings increase, yes, and a cost-of-living adjustment, I think everyone should get that.”
Kyyah, who has written a career advice book called The prepared graduateadded the companies that offered that “10, 20, 30 percent increase” would bring less turnover.
US annual inflation slowed to 6.4% in January from 6.5% the previous month
And it seems that her message resonated with the company’s employees.
‘OMG! I was here praising the 4%,” said one person.
“I got a 1% raise which was about $40 a month… the rent went up $250,” added another.
“Companies seem to prefer paying new hires more rather than promoting within or taking care of their employees,” a third person wrote.
“I got 1% on an above expectation this month. I’ll look elsewhere tonight,’ someone else said.
Others shared the very modest pay raises they received, with one person saying, “I just got a 34 cent raise.”
“Yeah, I got a ‘salary’ last year… 1.25 more an hour. That just comes out in taxes. I need a new job,” another commented.
The average American worker saw record pay increases in 2022, whether they stayed at their current position or switched companies and jobs.
The TikTok video has garnered more than 2,200 comments and has resonated with people
Data released in January shows those who stayed in their jobs saw a 5.5 percent pay increase in November 2022 compared to November 2021.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta also said workers who switched companies saw a 7.7 percent gain compared to a year earlier.
While the growth means more money going into the pockets of American workers, the increases are also pushing inflation higher, according to experts.
Wage growth for those who stayed at their jobs was up from 3.2 percent in January 2022, an overall increase of 1.8 percent.
Job changers had a 3.4 percent increase from November 2021 to November 2022.
Experts say the opportunity to earn a higher income at another company is why companies increase the wages of their current employees.
