What would you do if a co-worker with less seniority, expertise and drive got paid more than you?

[brxndxn]

I am one of 'those' people at my company.. A lot seem to be somewhat jealous of my role and I get paid well.

But here's the thing.. I have more roles than the average employee can even see. Only management really knows the amount of work that I do. So when another employee pokes fun of me for being late or questions the amount of work that I get done, I don't even answer them. No point.

I think OP is only seeing from inside his box. Before you judge the guy, find out what he does. Management may consider him leadership material and not the OP - find out why..

Or.. he could be one of those guys that someone in management pushed to get hired and is vigorously defending. Like.. if someone puts his own reputation at stake to get a guy hired and the guy is a total dumbass, then that management person might still try to act like he's the best employee at the company. And, if you happen to be the one questioning it, they might make an example of you.

But all I can say is the best way to go flying by that guy is to keep an open mind before you judge. Make sure your work is perfect. Hold yourself to a higher standard - and don't ever fucking complain about anything.

But.. he may just be better at politics (being a people person) than you.. or he may know more important people..

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: CoolTech
I interface with him to obtain the status of projects he is working on.

Just for that sentence you deserve your lower salary.

You do not "interface" with people. That's one of the more ridiculous corporate-speak terms out there. You either interact with people or you just plain work with them. Talking about "interfacing" with people will mark you among your more experienced co-workers.

ZV

 

[LS21]

Originally posted by: CoolTech

The guy comes late nearly every single day. ..... He lives 2 miles from work and he cant get to work on time.

srsly sounds like me

 

[BrokenVisage]

How does one quantify 'drive'?

 

[CoolTech]

Originally posted by: BrokenVisage
How does one quantify 'drive'?

I quantify drive by doing more than the bare minimum, going the extra mile...doing more than is expected of you because you want to make things better...prevent issues from occurring in the future, etc...

 

[CoolTech]

Originally posted by: astroidea

Originally posted by: CoolTech
A new guy at work was hired about 5 months ago. At the time, I had the same job title as he did. However, 2 months ago I was promoted into a different role where I interface with him to obtain the status of projects he is working on. I am not his manager, however I do manage projects he is involved with.

The guy comes late nearly every single day. I live 40 miles from work and am on time. I drive my car to the train station then walk 3 blocks. He lives 2 miles from work and he cant get to work on time. On top of this, we have to tell him the same thing many many times, and he still does not remember how to do things. He works as a Business Analyst which is a fairly technical role. He describes himself as not technical. The software developers that receive requirements consistently complain about the lack of detail and thoroughness. They have recently been cursing/scolding him for this. Overall, I am a superior employee with much more experience and expertise than him at my company.

However, as everyone working in the corporate world may know...when you switch jobs, you make the biggest salary gains. He moved from a large bank to our medium sized company. So, he was probably able to ask for a tidy sum.

We had open enrollment recently and he was asking me for help making choices. My harmless help has led to me feeling undervalued. Apparently the amount we pay for health benefits is directly tied to salary. Neither of us read this beforehand and now I know that he makes at least $10,000 more than I do for subpar work. Apparently its not very tasteful to bring up the fact that you know someone else's salary at work, but I found out in a fairly innocuous manner. I came into the company with not much corporate experience, but quickly exceled and was recently given a 20% raise. I have only been working for 4 years since college. But, it still bothers me a great deal that a guy myself and others have consistently noticed is apathetic and inept in many respects is paid more than me. I am contemplating starting to look for work but the current economy makes me almost simply happt to have a job. What would you do in this situation?

There are many people who are not detail oriented nor punctual, but highly creative and excellent problem solvers.
Google, for example, doesn't even have set work times for their employees.

Punctuality matters at most workplaces. Google is definitely not the norm...just like their free gourmet cafeterias and on site daycare is not.

 

[CoolTech]

Originally posted by: brxndxn
I am one of 'those' people at my company.. A lot seem to be somewhat jealous of my role and I get paid well.

But here's the thing.. I have more roles than the average employee can even see. Only management really knows the amount of work that I do. So when another employee pokes fun of me for being late or questions the amount of work that I get done, I don't even answer them. No point.

I think OP is only seeing from inside his box. Before you judge the guy, find out what he does. Management may consider him leadership material and not the OP - find out why..

Or.. he could be one of those guys that someone in management pushed to get hired and is vigorously defending. Like.. if someone puts his own reputation at stake to get a guy hired and the guy is a total dumbass, then that management person might still try to act like he's the best employee at the company. And, if you happen to be the one questioning it, they might make an example of you.

But all I can say is the best way to go flying by that guy is to keep an open mind before you judge. Make sure your work is perfect. Hold yourself to a higher standard - and don't ever fucking complain about anything.

But.. he may just be better at politics (being a people person) than you.. or he may know more important people..

I sit right next to the guy and see what he does on a daily basis ( a lot of which is going into the conference next to our cubes and talking about fantasy football for extended periods, surfing the net, etc.). He was hired because the company did not want to lose its "req" or request for a new employee. They in essence hired the first decent prospect they could find. Its understandable to a certain degree, however I should not be training and overall contributing to a greater degree than a guy who gets paid probably 20%+ more than I do.

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: CoolTech

Originally posted by: brxndxn
I am one of 'those' people at my company.. A lot seem to be somewhat jealous of my role and I get paid well.

But here's the thing.. I have more roles than the average employee can even see. Only management really knows the amount of work that I do. So when another employee pokes fun of me for being late or questions the amount of work that I get done, I don't even answer them. No point.

I think OP is only seeing from inside his box. Before you judge the guy, find out what he does. Management may consider him leadership material and not the OP - find out why..

Or.. he could be one of those guys that someone in management pushed to get hired and is vigorously defending. Like.. if someone puts his own reputation at stake to get a guy hired and the guy is a total dumbass, then that management person might still try to act like he's the best employee at the company. And, if you happen to be the one questioning it, they might make an example of you.

But all I can say is the best way to go flying by that guy is to keep an open mind before you judge. Make sure your work is perfect. Hold yourself to a higher standard - and don't ever fucking complain about anything.

But.. he may just be better at politics (being a people person) than you.. or he may know more important people..

I sit right next to the guy and see what he does on a daily basis ( a lot of which is going into the conference next to our cubes and talking about fantasy football for extended periods, surfing the net, etc.). He was hired because the company did not want to lose its "req" or request for a new employee. They in essence hired the first decent prospect they could find. Its understandable to a certain degree, however I should not be training and overall contributing to a greater degree than a guy who gets paid probably 20%+ more than I do.

You have to man up and talk to your boss about this.

I was teaching grads and they were all paid more due to the company upping grads pay for the new year and shafting me. I had no issues with the grads just how much the company were paying them. I called a meeting with my boss, got fed up with the delayed response and a fat pay rise else where.

You got to make things hppen fr yourself and negotiate more money at the start. The squeeky wheel gets the grease.

You shouldn't be hating on him, hate on management for giving him more £££ then you.

Koing

 

[Colt45]

Have zero morale, do the bare minimum.

 

[SsupernovaE]

What would I do?

Bend over and take it. You're going to be extremely disappointed when you get a new job and find out the exact same thing happens everywhere.