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Comment by pugworthy | Hacker News Reader

I wonder how common it was for companies to not give out any raises due to economic changes from the pandemic. It depends I suppose on what the business is and what the impact is.

Our Fortune 50 company late last year announced no raises based on the annual review cycle because of "things", but did give out bonuses. Of course then we had record earnings announcements recently, so it's not clear what the "things" were.

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Several companies I know seemed to lie and use Covid as a convenient excuse to not give out raises (or give shitty bonuses, etc) to save money in the short term. Meanwhile hiring and earnings don't match up to those actions.

That's a fairly cynical take. You may be right, at least in some cases, but I also think it's reasonable for any executive to look at the unprecedented situation with a high degree of uncertainty and reign in spending on all possible fronts. In hindsight perhaps cutting back salaries/bonuses wasn't warranted, but that doesn't mean it was all planned as a scheme to boost profits.

I'm cynical because apparently reigning in spending can be done instantly, but handing out bonuses, raises or equity seems to be a very long and difficult process involving a lot of some-day-soons and any-day-nows and then perhaps-next-years.

Indeed, it's easy for the execs raking in top salaries to say "everyone cant get raises now", yet when the profits roll in they don't reverse course and now your salary is deflated by one or more annual cycles of non-adjustment. This is a permanent deflation of your salary vs pre-COVID expectations at this same company too.

This phenomenon definitely has made me want to leave my job. I would consider myself the most important member of my team but would guess I am making a median salary on it. Time to brush up on my political speak and whiteboarding

> I would consider myself the most important member of my team but would guess I am making a median salary on it

so either you're not as important as you think you are, or you're being ripped off salary-wise. Both are reasons to move tbh.

Yes .. watch what they DO, over a zoomed out timescale.

Anything else is a decoy. Words != actions.

Eh, executives seem pretty receptive to the idea of not cutting their own pay during uncertainty or a downturn[0].

My understanding is that retention bonuses are the norm during bankruptcy. Of course, I understand the reason for that. But the reasoning is pretty clearly "we're betting on you not being mobile enough or irreplaceable enough".

Of course it is a bit cynical, and maybe some companies are acting different. But in general I think the cynicism is justified.

[0] https://on.ft.com/3rfL1n4 (paywalled, but link bypasses)

Depends entirely on the company. I switched jobs during the pandemic, the new company has constantly been hiring, I got a huge salary/benefits boost, and I got an end of year raise and bonuses. As I was heading out from the previous job, they sent out an email saying that hiring was frozen, salaries would be frozen (no raises for anybody), and retirement contribution matches would halt. I've had some friends furloughed and some also get new jobs. Probably comes down to how the employer was affected by changes due to the pandemic

(in case anyone wants to ask, I don't reveal personal info online, so I won't be disclosing any company I've worked for)

Same here. My employer is fortunate to be doing well. I've heard we are seeing some really good applicants. But they want to compete with top tech companies. So initial offers are going up, they are still giving out raises, and benefits have improved.

This exact same thing happened to me.

Just get a stock comp.

If they don't raise your base rate (and get stingy with employees to get better profits), your stock will appreciate.

Bonuses at the tech company where I work were only funded at 57% even though the financial press has been in love with the stock lately. The contrast with the recent stock performance made the shit bonus feel like a real slap in the face.

> so it's not clear what the "things" were.

"Things" are easy to work out. Just follow the money.

Management gets far more RSUs and options and this means they are incentivised to do or say anything they think might push up the stock price.

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