I'm sole developer working in some niche industry in team with 9 engineers.
Today our CEO announced that 80% of people in our company (thousands) received pay rise(due the inflation etc.).
It is first time in 4 years that I did not get any pay rise.
Just month ago I asked(via email) for feedback from my boss and he praised my skills, ambitions and working speed.
Reason that I did not get pay rise might be that I'm not afraid to criticize some stupid ideas, and I'm very offensive when it comes to handling projects (I lead, and I work hard). So I often have some silly(very short lived) conflicts with some of the engineers.
I love my job and industry, but I often have problem with my team (non programmers) and I lack "emotional" support form my boss(no "thank you" for working in weekends for example).
My boss refuses to talk with me about it.
Should I just quit?
> Reason that I did not get pay rise might be that I'm not afraid to criticize some stupid ideas, and I'm very offensive when it comes to handling projects (I lead, and I work hard). So I often have some silly(very short lived) conflicts with some of the engineers.
I'm all about pushing back on "stupid ideas" but you might want to think about coming up with a less abrasive way to do it. That won't win you any friends and could hinder your ability to get other jobs in the future "He was a hard worker but no one wanted to work with him". You can skate by for a while acting this way but it will come back to bite you. Working on your soft skills can be invaluable and let you go much further than you otherwise might.
But all that said, I'd look for a new job unless you want to try asking for a raise. Even if you get the raise, if it feels like pulling teeth, then start looking. Also don't work outside 9-5 hours unless you are compensated, companies will take advantage of that and not care if you burn out.
I think it's reasonable to expect your manager to provide more details. I would give my manager a heads up that if they do not explain I am going to escalate. In my escalation I would stick to the facts. "The CEO said 80% of the company got raises. I did not get a raise. I have asked my manager for an explanation. My manager refused to explain."
P.S. you should totally work on those personal defects that you've identified in yourself. It sounds like you may also have some responsibility in creating a toxic work environment.
And if it doesn't, then yes - it sounds like there are some problems in both directions, so maybe it is time to find something else.
The best way to get a pay raise is to change your job. This is how the industry works.
Many people fail to realize that their relationship with the company is a contractual one and nothing else. Sure, your coworkers are most likely pleasant to be around but that does not change the _nature_ of a corporation. It exists to simply generate profits for itself and has no other goals.
This is why getting emotionally attached to your work is a mistake because sooner or later it will harm you in some way (burnouts, preventing career growth, slowing financial growth,..). Companies know this of course and usually use it to take advantage of people. What do you think all those ping-pong tables, free foods, team building "exercises", lectures about how we are in the trenches together, etc are supposed to achieve? All those are meant to amplify one's emotional investment to a soulless corporation.
Still not convinced? Just look a the CEO of bolt right now with his emotionally charged war speech as the ship is sinking.. Lord knows what he is saying to his team internally to squeeze a few extra cents out of them before the end.
But I digress; Yes, you should quit if you are unhappy. Don't go to your boss, don't "discuss it", all that will do is paint a cross on your back if they find out.
Start interviewing, as soon as you have a position you like, hand in your resignation letter and rotate off. No feelings hurt, nothing unprofessional this simply business.
Remember that you are a professional and your health and happiness of yourself, loved ones and family members is what takes priority over everything else.
Best of luck!
Well, that's a red flag if I ever saw one. It sounds like you already have some areas you know you should be working on, and that's good. But if your boss refuses to talk to you about your career / pay then something is going on. Or maybe you just have a bad boss. Either way, I'd be looking for that reason alone.
Hard work alone won't make you grow your career, you need to be tactful and you need to be a team player. Calling an idea stupid is childish and unprofessional.
If your boss announced that almost everyone else but you got a raise, he probably wants you to quit, just not enough to straight up fire you.
Either find somewhere else or consider this a wake up call to change.
Several months ago my CEO mentioned in a townhall that raises would be larger than normal this year due to recognizing inflation.
At the tail end of my reasonable and normal performance review I got by far the smallest raise I've received in close to a decade.
So, I'm job searching, because the clear signal is my contribution is no longer valued. Had the CEO said nothing, I might be telling myself that the company was in hard times or something, but instead I know I'm an outlier.
You should apply to other positions, it sounds like you are frustrated... or worse get some enjoyment from being frustrated. It is in your best interest to not be this way, and it can give you some illusionary ego boosts that are toxic.
From someone who has treated most jobs like a lifestyle, a job is a job and you shouldn't be more invested than this.
Secure a new job. And while you do that, work on your soft skills. You admit to being "offensive" and yet you want "emotional" support.
If the answer is yes then I would still wait until September or so if I were you - summer is slow season in recruitment and the job offers are usually uninspiring.
2. I've worked with very few people who's individual contributions are great enough that it exceeds their contribution/output if they were a technical lead mentoring other engineers. It does happen, people who build libraries and frameworks and solve intractable problems for the business can be great IC-IC's. But it's not most of us. So if you're constantly having non-productive conflict with other engineers, you may be undermining your own productivity, and your value in the eyes of your management.
I guess there's two factors. If you think you can make more somewhere else, go somewhere else. Or if you think you might be fired, time to start looking.
That all being said. I'd love to dig deeper into the fact that you seem value emotional support from your boss, but seem to admit to denying that to your peers.
If you can find a better work environment then quit. I wouldn't work weekends without some form of recognition, which is sounds like you are not getting.
I was trying to “wait till I got an offer” like everyone says and interview during work hours. Eventually a meeting got rescheduled to a time I had an interview, so I told the meeting organizer I couldn’t make it and didn’t show. Then my manager & director started hounding me like a pack of howler monkeys. After I was done with my interviews I got back to them and quit on the spot because they were being jackasses. Then I literally got multiple job offers the next day and had another company compete against them, now I’m making 2x what I was making and everybody is super nice and cool.
Looking back, I wish I had just quit earlier, when you’re in a shitty situation you stay in it hoping it gets better, when you should really just give up and recalibrate your life. There’s no glory in working on a team of uninspiring douchebags.
This means that the FED will certainly increase the unemployment rate and put pressure on companies. Why? Because they do not want a 70s type of inflation auto-fueled by wage increases which is actually already the case in the US but not in Europe.
During a time of layoffs, HR uses generally a LIFO (Last In First Out) list. => Changing job adds risk.
As several have noted: Work is not an individual sport (Forget the tv shows). You need allies. Working on your social skills will increase your income faster than changing job. And it will decrease your probabilities to be fire if (when?) a recession hits.
No rush, look for a better job. If you find one you would be happier with, just take it if you also get a raise.
Some developers can sometimes lack the social skills to work cohesively with a team especially if they regard everyone as beneath them when it comes to IQ (stupid).
It’s a good thing you recognize friction points - perhaps it’s something you can work on?
At least, stop working in weekends. (Unless you can somewhat compensate the hours reducing the time during the other days of the week.)
The important part is once this starts happening nothing will change until enough people - not just you - force the issue by leaving for someplace that treats you better.
You have indicated an awareness that are are not always perfect. I have no idea how bad you are, there are some people that the company would be better off if they left, and the company has decided you are such a person. Maybe you need to reform yourself? I cannot answer that other than to point out everyone has room for improvement.
Get a strong documentation trail going, send an email indicating you need to speak with them about x, you're free anytime they are, send calendar invites etc.
Once you have their explicit refusal or implicit from negligence -- go to skip level (boss of your boss) and be prepared to need to move in the org as retaliation is too likely to risk.
It sounds like you already know what the issue is. It will not get better.
On the other hand, you should work on yourself and examine what you can do better (as opposed as blaming you for when things went wrong ie. you snapped at somebody etc).
I would not work on weekends, like, just don't do it, let them hire another dev if they need it.
I see this pattern in career conversations online. Someone has an issue at work, they ask online if they should quit, and the overwhelming answer is a resounding yes. The problem with this is that this reaction doesn't leave room for introspection. If OP has an underlying issue that's holding them back, they might resolve it by changing companies in the short term, but it will always come back to haunt them if left unaddressed.
Back to your question, I would consider unacceptable to not get at least an inflation meeting raise every year. On the other hand you admit that your behaviour might be at the root of this outcome.
So yes, by all means make your stance clear and start looking for new positions. But before that, do some deep and honest introspection and consider working on yourself. Otherwise we will likely see a similar post in a couple of years complaining about how unfair your new workplace is.
Offensive as in aggressive? or offensive as in rude? the latter will only hinder you. You can have a no-nonsense attitude without being annoying.
> no "thank you" for working in weekends for example
stop working weekends if you aren't getting paid for it
email their manager and ask them why you didn't get a pay raise because your manager isn't answering questions.
Also, important: did you clearly indicate you wanted/expected one beforehand?
If I were you, I would just start searching for a new job and make a conscious effort to be easier to work with in your next job. No one likes having to work with jerks, no matter how technically skilled or brilliant they may be. I'm not saying you are a jerk but it sounds like others may see you that way.
First, the CEO is an idiot for publicly saying that. This is most likely alienating 20% of the company.
Second, pushing back on stupid ideas is good, but being aggressive and offensive is not. Knowing how to rally people is a critical skill to master. You can be the best technical dev in the world, if you behave like a dick and nobody wants to work with you you won't get far.
Stop working during weekends. All you're doing is normalizing what should be very exceptional.
Finally, the fact that you can't talk to your boss about it is really messed up. It is a clear signal that you need to GTFO.
Saying either one of "I'm very offensive when it comes to handling projects" or "I often have problem[s] with my team" by themselves would be enough for you not to get any sort of raise IMO (or worse).
Yes, you should quit and you should stay as far away from anything that requires social skills whatsoever. And also, what is wrong with you other people here?
this is tough in US and Canada in my experience. manager has to tread lightly too, or else manager gets fired for sounding xenophobic
Leave. Find another job, and then quit.