Q: How would you feel? It was an accident...for real. The deal is that I do half of her work for her most of the time, and seeing that she makes $6.00 an hour more than me has almost made me feel like a worthless door mat. How would you feel, and what would you do? I have stopped doing any of her work for her, I figure if she makes that much more than me she can just figure it out by herself. Is that a bad attitude? The reason she makes more is because she has been here 10 years longer than me. She should make more...but just seeing those numbers (and I won't tell anyone) just depresses me for some reason...it shouldn't but it does. And I do her work because her boss asks me to, and has been for the last year. But nothing, no pay raise. Maybe it is time to start looking for a new job...and that sucks because I am really good at this one.
A: Since your extra work has been assigned by a superior to you both, there could be another way of looking at this. Having been there 10 years longer than you, consider first that your co-worker is considered higher ranking than you. Even if she doesn't have a title to signify this, she has proved to be someone who can be relied upon to get the job done and over the years has been given more and more responsibilities. The fact that you have been selected to work with her could mean you have caught the eye of those over you and are considered capable of taking on the extra work load. This displays a degree of confidence in you by those who matter. It is my experience that the additional work almost always comes before the additional pay. Perhaps you are being given an opportunity to prove yourself?