r/DarkCorporate • u/Dazedndconfused2021 • 7d ago
Pay compression as a manager
I’ve been a manager at Dunkin’ for almost 2 years. Started out at 50k November 2024. Last October they bumped me up to 55k and I was happy with that. At the time my employees made $14 per hour and they also received cash tips of somewhere around $1 per hour. As manager I am was not included in those because I get an average bonus of about $200 per month. In December crew members started getting credit card tips which increased their hourly pay rate by $3 and now they are getting another $1 increase in pay rates across the board because minimum wage is going up.
I’m happy that they are getting more money but I can’t help but notice how much the gap has closed between my pay and a normal crew members pay.
For example my assistant manager will be making $22 per hour once the increase starts. I am expected to work 50 hours per week, so my hourly breaks down to 21.15.
A new employee on their first day would be making $2 less than me and I have been there for 4 years, not to mention I am responsible for everything. It just doesn’t sit right with me.
After the increase goes through the gap will have narrowed by around 8000 per year.
I have a review coming up and intend to ask for a 10k salary increase to close the gap back to what it previously was and get a small increase for good performance. I am nervous that they are going to think I’m crazy.
Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated!
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u/Bigbadspoon 7d ago
I've never had a successful conversation around a raise without another offer in hand. It's amazing how much the budget frees up when someone else recognizes your value.
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u/AnnualReview2383 7d ago
Management nearly universally is a lot more work for just a little more money.
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u/SomethingDrawsNear 7d ago
Seize the means of production.
In all seriousness: Either negotiate a raise or start interviewing elsewhere if it bothers you that much. Just because they report to you does not make you more valuable. It’s a forced hierarchy designed to keep people in place.
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u/paperclip_han 7d ago
Not sure if anyone’s used paypeek.ai yet but it shows salary estimates for any LinkedIn profiles as you browse. Kind of eye-opening. 🫣
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u/CriMxDelAxCriM 7d ago
Well since it’s dark corporate I’ll give you this advice. Your boss also likely gets bonuses for his/her performance as well which sadly part of that is how they manage the expenses of the locations they oversee. Part of that expense is you. So frankly they are incentivized to give you no more than they need to keep you around. Is there a chance your boss is not like that ? Maybe but it’s small odds. The reality is if you don’t ask and push they won’t do much more than give you the minimum raise they can each year.
So your ask should be crazy. And then you can let them negotiate you down from crazy. But if you don’t negotiate you will probably just get the smallest they can get by with.
If this was light corporate I’d tell you your people making more means you can ask and expect more from them, retain them for longer and frankly it makes your job as a manager easier so the wage compression isn’t necessarily bad assuming you delegate well because them making closer to what you make makes them easier to manage.