My employee feels she deserves more money

DEAR HARRIETTE » My assistant has been doing a good job at work, so I offered her a promotion and a 20% raise. I was surprised and disappointed by her response. She said she thought the raise wasn’t enough and that she deserves a lot more. I run a small business and do not have more to give her. I never know if all of my current contracts will last, so I have to keep sizable savings in order to pay for all of the expenses it takes to run the business. I know that many companies, including ones much larger than mine, don’t even give cost of living increases on a regular basis, let alone a whopping 20%. I can’t go higher, nor do I think she deserves it. But I also don’t want a disgruntled employee. How should I handle this?

— Disappointed

DEAR DISAPPOINTED » Sit down with your assistant and remind her of how much you value her. That’s why you offered her both a promotion and a big raise. Acknowledge that you know she is not satisfied with your offer. Share insights with her about job trends in our country so that she can gain a bit of perspective on her situation. In 2019, for example, the U.S. Government’s cost of living increase for Social Security was 2.8%. Many corporations paid a similar amount to employees. According to indeed. com, the average raise these days is 4.5-6%, so 20% would be considered exceptional. That said, it probably doesn’t seem so great if the base salary was low. It can take time for a smaller starting salary to increase to a comfortable figure.

For anyone looking to request a promotion or a raise right now, you may want to take a number of factors into consideration — take a self-assessment of your job performance to honestly consider whether you are deserving, prepare a presentation to demonstrate clear reasons why you are ready, and go in with confidence. Here are more suggestions: indeed.com/career-advice/pay-salary/ what-is-a-reasonable-raise.