A situation where I engaged in a set of behaviors that involved compensation as a motivating factor was when I decided it was time to step up from my starting role in grocery retail to a management position. I had spent three years in my role learning as much as I could and slowly taking on more and more responsibility. Eventually, I reached a point where I knew it was either get promoted or go out and find another job to stay interested and engaged in my work.
I am someone who probably does not focus on my compensation as much as I should be. I prefer to trust that I am being compensated fairly based on the work I am doing, and how I am contributing to my organization. However, in this circumstance, and in getting more familiar with the retail industry, there are a lot of individuals who are able to skate by and continue to earn raises even when others are working much harder than they are. I reached a point where I started resenting learning more about the role and aspects of a manager’s role because even though I was doing this to stay interested and feel fulfilled in my job, knowing that I was starting to complete tasks above my pay grade was no longer acceptable to me.
I made my intention clear that I was ready to be considered for a promotion. An individual whom I had trained at the starting role was promoted around this time, which fueled my goal of moving upward because if someone I had helped train at the starting position and at the point of stepping into the management role, it was time that I be in that role as well. I was motivated to continue training and becoming as knowledgeable about the role as I could, so that upon stepping into it I would have enough of an understanding to do well and learn the other aspects of the job over time.
Prior to interviewing with our regional, I discussed with my in-store boss what I expected my raise to be. I happened to want an hourly rate that was one dollar over the starting pay for the manager’s role. Fortunately, my hard work and experience in the role paid off as I ended up being started at the pay I wanted to earn. I was finally content in my role because I had the opportunity to continue learning and evolving my skills in retail management, and was now being compensated fairly for my contributions.
