Recognition For a Job Well Done - Counting My Pennies

I found out last week that effective today, I am getting a raise and a promotion at work. I was incredibly shocked by this news. Not only is the economy tanking, but I was told in fairly explicit terms that I was part of a group that was not eligible for a promotion in any sense. (It’s a long, and slightly interesting story, which I may go into later.)

I’m not sure which made me more excited – the fact that my paycheck is growing or the fact that I finally feel like someone’s recognizing the work that I’m doing in the office. A number of my team members have quit in recent weeks, and I have taken on a significant amount of their work. They were all above me in the hierarchy, so I’ve been doing the work of people one and two levels higher than me since they left. And our new department head took notice. It’s really a good feeling to finally feel valued here. Because the person who hired me was gone by the time I started this job, I have always felt a bit unwelcome, so this was a wonderful turn of events.

Plus I’m excited about a bigger paycheck. I’m not going to lie.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know about this event – I tweeted about it almost immediately.

And then I felt guilty.

While I know that I work hard and I earned this promotion, I know that there are a lot of people out there who are really struggling, hoping they don’t get laid off, and here I am rubbing my promotion in their faces. I’m reluctant to tell my friends about it for that very reason. I know that even though I earned this promotion, I’m also lucky to get it. I know there are some out there who are immediately thinking that it’s only because I work for the government. And while it’s true that my government position means I’m less likely to get laid off, it’s not as if this position was just created for me. As I said, I’m sliding into a position that has been vacated. I’m not sure if they’re going to hire others onto our team or not. As of yet, we haven’t heard anything to that effect.

It’s strange how my emotions on all of this have changed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still delighted to have my accomplishments and dedication recognized, and I’m looking forward to seeing just what that new paycheck is going to look like. I just feel uncomfortable with sharing it with the people I would normally celebrate with.

Of course, I plan to just increase my savings, no big excitement due to this raise. But it’s reassuring to have a bit more of a cushion.

Megan Smith

Megan is a 30-something government employee in the Washington, DC area. She got interested in Personal Finance when she got out of college and realized that her paycheck wasn’t going to go as far as she had hoped. Since starting this blog, she has managed to buy a house and make a solid start on her retirement goals, and hopes to help others do the same. Here is her story:

In 2007, I was a gainfully employed 20-something with no debt but not a lot of knowledge about personal finance. It was a co-worker’s comment about Roth IRAs that sent me to the internet, searching for information. It was then that I realized that I really didn’t know a whole lot about personal finance and that my current financial situation was due a lot to inherent frugal tendencies, generous family members, a fear of debt, and good luck. While that was working for me, clearly I needed a better plan.

While I had no debt, I was also pretty much living paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about going over budget (I say this as if I had a real budget) because I had an emergency fund set aside to cover any overages.

Except that’s not what an emergency fund is for.

So I did a lot of research, read a lot of blogs, and decided that I needed a plan. I needed to budget. I needed to know what I was spending my money on. I needed to prepare for the future.

I decided to create a blog not only to make myself accountable to others but also to share the knowledge that I gained along the way. I’ve learned so much from my fellow bloggers, and I hope that my readers can find something useful in what I have to share as well.

Comments

Karen says
March 30, 2009 at 8:05 am
Congratulations on the promotion! Try to enjoy it despite the economic problems around you. Even if you decide not to make a big deal about it to people you know who may be struggling, I would share the news with a select few of your closest friends and family. I’m sure the people who love you would want to celebrate with you!
Wojciech @ Fiscal Fizzle says
March 30, 2009 at 8:09 am
I think your emotions are very common for all of those celebrating success in times like these. I don’t think you can feel guilty about giving your job 110% and being rewarded for it. In effect, you are only reaping what you sow.
If your employer (in this case, the government) is financially successful, then I think they have every right to share that with you. And you have every right to accept it, celebrate it, and move on. If I were laid off and saw my friends getting raises, I may be sad about my own situation, but I would be genuinely happy for them.
Fabulously Broke says
March 30, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Don’t feel bad about it. If I were your friend I’d be psyched for you 🙂
And congratulations. Well deserved!
J. Money says
March 30, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Congrats!!! You got all us pf’ers to wish you a job well done. I’d be flying high as hell if i could pull that off in today’s market! so great job.
NCN says
March 30, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Shoot, don’t feel guilty, be super happy! It always feels good to be rewarded for hard work – enjoy this blessing.
Rock on,
NCN
Megan says
March 31, 2009 at 9:44 am
Thanks for all the congrats, everyone. I appreciate the kind comments. It feels pretty good to be appreciated at work, and it’s nice to be able to share that.

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