4 signs that you’re definitely being underpaid

If you’ve ever had the niggling feeling that you’re just not being paid what you deserve for the work you do, these red flags will confirm your suspicion

Given the highly confidential nature of salaries, it’s often difficult to gauge whether your employer is short-changing you.

It’s a topic that’s supposed to be highly guarded and can be rather intimidating to confront if you’re not 100% sure that your hunch is correct.

But, there are a few signs that indicate that it might be time to address the issue of pay because you’re simply not earning what you deserve.

1. More responsibilities, same salary

It’s quite common for your responsibilities to evolve and pile up the longer you are employed at an organisation, but when your day-to-day duties no longer bear a fraction of a semblance to your job description and your salary has remained much the same, you’re probably not being paid enough.

Likewise, if your job title has changed, but there’s been no corresponding increase in your salary, you’re likely being robbed. Effectively, this is a promotion without a raise.

2. Your salary was below market when you started working and hasn’t changed much

While you might not have cared too much what your starting salary was when you landed your first job because you were so excited to be employed, you certainly need to care when a few years into your career you’re not earning much more than you were at the beginning.

Be careful not to fall into this trap, because it can be very difficult to play catch-up when you start from an extremely low base.

3. A similar job in the same company offers higher pay

If you start doing a bit of research online and find a listing of a position similar to yours at the same company, but the salary on offer is significantly higher, then your expectations of a raise could be warranted.

You must, however, consider all aspects, like the level of education and experience and if they are close enough, it’s very likely you’re being underpaid.

You can visit websites like pay scale.com to get salary benchmarks.

4. Performance reviews or raises are insignificant

If the time for performance reviews seems to come and go with no reviews, chances are there won’t be a raise. Or, if there is a raise, it may be an insignificant increase of about 1%-4% for everyone.

If this patterns persists, then you’re probably not being paid enough.