Getting poorer

[Randy_The_Squirrel]

And before you get any funny ideas... the crap started for me in 2009, that was the year when I first started to cut back on things...
That was when the company I was working for at the time, became crap, and they started to become vindictive because the staff on the line dared go on strike. I moved on there, but like I said, a move out of desperation and keeping your eyes closed and hoping for the best is a recipe for disaster.

A lot of the places I worked at, underwent some kind of change due to the economy.. and to think that I was not affected by that change, is perhaps naive. The last good job I was at, they restructured the place, canned the projects I worked on, and I still to this day am not sure what the fark happened. Most of my colleagues have left, about two remain. I really thought the boss there was my friend, until I found out last year he has become a bad sport and is giving me bad references... Why? Fark knows... I would love to know what is going on. Something changed after I had left... These are the kinds of details I don't want to talk about online but perhaps they'll help you to all understand me better.

Nobody takes a job to fail, certainly not me either... but one has to be realistic... its one thing to be a loafer, and spend all your days online, but I do believe in that thing where you should trust employees. Reasonable accommodations go one hell of a way to making a company successful.

But yes, I don't know what else to do.... eventually there will be nothing left to get rid of, or cut back on, and then what?

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

Plus you can wear whatever clothes you want

Except for shorts and sandals, I can do that anyway. And that's at a large corporate. Times are changing, and unless you're customer-facing, companies seem to be far more flexible with dress code these days...

 

[Paul_S]

I'm not badly paid either although my wife is in the teaching profession so I have to carry most of the financial costs of running a house and providing for a family.
The fact is that costs of goods and services has been outpacing salary increases for the past 5 years by a fair margin. 5 years ago my hospital plan was around R1000 and now it's nearly R2000 yet my salary hasn't doubled in the same period. Likewise food price increases.

The other problem is tax bracket creep. People may be getting inflation related increases every year but the tax man hasn't adjusted the tax brackets so you effectively pay more tax every time you get an increase but your money buys less every year.
Middle class is being squeezed. The vehicle stealerships are also being squeezed because the middle class can no longer afford new vehicles.

I see several industries getting a serious shake up in the next 5 years private medical aids and local vehicle manufacturers being two that immediately come to mind.

 

[AlphaJohn]

The flip side to your argument is, "One company is not a representative sample. Thus statements such as yours can be construed as anecdotal at best and trite at worst." You need data and facts. There are many variables to take into account. Primarily which sector (industry), followed by which area.

I will not dispute the fact that the cost of living has seen a spike in during the 2015/2016 period.

Well we can start here if you want...



And GDP % doesn't look all to rosy either. Sure its not -% but its not like 5% or more to really validate everyone getting high increases.



We also havent really started seeing the new trend where Humans need not apply

 

[Bobbin]

A lot of the value in the work I do is intangible (I mostly play an advisory role) and so I struggle to assess my own worth in the company. But as long as I'm wanted/valued then it's all good. I'm due to close off a project in a month or two that I started which will save us 100k a month for as long as I care to know so that's at least some measure Nice knowing that I have that little bargaining chip for what it's worth. We did not receive increases at all last year though so I really need something decent this year or I will have to reduce investments or expenses somehow.

 

[Drifter]

There should be a law passed that all annual increases must be at least equal to the current inflation rate, at a minimum. (I know, pipe dream). The companies, especially huge corporates can afford it. I get sick when I see how much money the company I work at waste om frivolous internal marketing campaigns.

 

[P924]

There should be a law passed that all annual increases must be at least equal to the current inflation rate, at a minimum. (I know, pipe dream). The companies, especially huge corporates can afford it. I get sick when I see how much money the company I work at waste om frivolous internal marketing campaigns.

That is pretty much a way to guarantee that next years inflation will be higher than the current.