As much as we would like for people to have equal income and be equally financially stable, the world doesn’t work that way. Some professions require an education, while others don’t, some professions are more dangerous than others and some of them come with a bigger responsibility than the rest, so the ones that require more are compensated more generously.
But even that’s not always the case. Reddit user glasswitch88 who works as an administrative assistant at a law firm shared her interaction with her boss when she said to her that Target employees earn more than her.
More info: Reddit
Law firm admin assistant shares how indifferent her boss was to the news that she earns less than a Target employee
Image credits: peggydavis66 (not the actual photo)
Besides being an administrative assistant in a law firm, the Original Poster (OP) is also a single mom to a cat and she has to make her furry child’s life better. She heard that Target raised their starting wage to $24.
On Target’s official website they said, “The new approach will apply to hourly team members working in Target stores, supply chain facilities and headquarters locations, positioning Target as a wage leader in every market where it operates.” The minimum wage will still be $15, but some positions will have a higher starting salary.
The admin assistant heard the news that some Target employees are offered $24 an hour when she earns less than that
Image credits: glasswitch88
The problem is that the OP earns about $23 an hour in a law firm in New York, which is less than a Target employee would. She mentioned it to her boss and the boss’ reaction was that it doesn’t matter because if they had to choose between working at a Target and working at a law firm, they would prefer an office job.
In one of the comments, glasswitch88 explained that the company surely can afford to pay her a better salary. “This firm makes millions. I have no savings and haven’t even touched my student debt. But nooooo I should be proud to work here… oh and our profits went up last year. And I got a whopping 2% raise.”
Image credits: glasswitch88
But the admin assistant didn’t think this was a good outlook because she was required to have a degree, but that didn’t reflect in her wage. It’s not that the Target employees don’t deserve a proper salary, it’s that the law firm should pay more and notice the changes in the market like Target does.
Bored Panda reached out to glasswitch88 and she said, “To be clear, I do want Target to make $24 an hour. I know it’s mostly a PR piece and only for certain NYC locations (and the veracity of that is not even clear). However, I wanted to just use the article as a way of showing my boss that times are changing and it might be time to up the base salary of support staff. If we want to attract the right employees and we require sterling resumes (people with amazing GPAs from Ivy League schools), we can’t be paying them the same wages as Target.”
The boss didn’t seem to be that concerned because working at a law firm gives more prestige
Image credits: glasswitch88
It is fair that the 6th most expensive city in the world to live in would apply the new salary range in their Target stores. The OP herself opens up about her finances in one of the comments: “I live in a two bedroom apartment that’s $2200 so I pay $1100 a month, plus $100 a week in groceries (yay NYC prices) and then $200 a month in electric/gas/internet. I make about $2400 a month. So yeah. Saving is not happening.”
Another thing that the OP revealed was that she makes the same amount as the manager, but that didn’t console her as then she found out that most admins make $20k more than her.
She revealed to us that the job itself isn’t that stressful and her responsabilities include “a lot of non-billable behind-the-scenes work. She answers the phones, fields guests, and does a lot of paperwork for high-powered clients.” However, the workplace has a few problems that need to be solved, “everyone is underpaid, especially by NYC standards. When we are talking about normal rent being $2,000 for a two-bedroom, a $40,000 salary is about half a month’s paycheck. But I do know a lot of folks are in the same boat. A lot of us also only got a 3% raise which doesn’t account for inflation being around 7%.”
The admin assistant also remembers how she had to take on some extra work, but she wasn’t compensated for it, “When Covid hit I was asked to take on a lot of extra responsibilites. Basically before I was just admin, now I’m admin and HR. There was no additional pay, in fact we all got our salaries cut. We have since been reimbursed and are back to normal but I didn’t get any kind of bonus or pay increase. I’m still doing the job of two people with no end in sight.”
The OP pointed out that a law firm’s salary should compete with salaries in the same work field and not with Target
Image credits: glasswitch88
There is a brighter side to the story, because in an update, the OP said that she is leaving the law firm and she already has a place to go. The new company will pay her $10k a year more which she was able to get because she already has experience.
The OP is still interviewing but she is going to a new company because they offer a bigger salary. The difference adds up to $40k although it will require more responsibility. But glasswitch88 says, “it’ll be worth it if that means I can pay off my credit cards.”
Not only that but “There are also a lot more perks for employees, like planned events. My company, while also large, has very little outside events. No drinking nights or baseball games lol. I realize this may sound incredibly petty to many people, but I’ve been interviewing at similar places and they take their entire team to Florida for a week. Or out to dinner or basketball games. There is no reason my large firm can’t give us the same perks. Obviously, the pay comes first, but free lunches every day also add up!”
That is why she decided to leave and managed to find a position that pays $10k more
Image credits: glasswitch88
The point of the post was to talk about the unfair wages supporting staff gets because they are important pieces in the whole company picture and because they are humans, they deserve to be paid so they can live a dignified life.
Also, the problem is not Target raising their wages, but law firms being compared to a department store’s wages. A competitive salary means competitive in the same field of work and not in general. The OP mentioned that she will bring this up again before her last day at work.
Image credits: glasswitch88
What do you think about administrative assistants earning less than a Target employee? Do you think that the conversation about minimum wage being too low should be louder? Share your opinions with us in the comments!
People in the comments thought that Target’s offer is very decent and they would take it
The post Woman Chooses To Leave Her Law Firm Where She Was Making Less Than A Target Employee And Her Boss Didn’t Think It Was A Big Deal first appeared on Bored Panda.
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