Fast Company: How to Negotiate Your Salary to Help With Inflation
With 8.6% inflation—a 40-year high—many people are feeling the pinch in their wallets as the cost of food, gas, and rent rise. If you haven’t received a raise in the past year, it may be time to negotiate a higher salary. Inflation is a great negotiation tool because it’s an objective standard, says Andres Lares, managing partner at Shapiro Negotiations Institute, negotiation consulting firm.
“It isn’t me asking for a raise for an arbitrary reason, such as ‘I’m a very good worker,'” he says. “Your boss may or may not agree. But inflation is well documented. If you made $150,000 last year and you’re making $150,000 now, you’re effectively making less money [when it comes to buying power.]”
Ben Cook, CEO of the salary negotiation consulting firm Riva, tells his clients, “If you didn’t get an 8% pay raise this year, you got a pay cut.” “Assuming you didn’t do so poorly that you deserve a pay cut, it’s time to ask for a raise,” he says.
But it’s easier said than done for most people. Asking for a raise feels like a confrontation, says Cook. “Most people don’t like confrontation,” he says. “The cost of not negotiating is hard to visualize. It doesn’t feel like someone taking money away from you, but it’s money that you don’t earn. It is, in fact, the same thing.”
Cook says many people leave jobs unnecessarily because they didn’t give their current employer a chance to improve their compensation. Instead of avoiding an uncomfortable conversation, consider these strategies that can make the situation easier.