Feeling underpaid - here's why and what you can do about it

As a nation, Australian’s are working harder than ever, with an increase of working hours and in 2002, only 39 per cent of Australians took their full four-week holiday entitlement.

In spite of working harder, Australian’s also feel like they are being underpaid, with a large majority of job seekers looking for a new job, as a result of inadequate compensation.

So are Australians really being underpaid, or simply think they are being underpaid?

Finding out if you are being underpaid

With a sharp cap on salaries and wages for many Australian’s, many Australian’s are below the industry standards.  The reasons employees are being underpaid is varied, from not receiving a rise, in spite of taking on more responsibilities, poor salary negotiating skills, through to working in sectors notorious for poor pay and conditions (e.g. child care and retail). 

To find out if you truly underpaid, you need to educate yourself on the appropriate compensation for your job in your industry.  Go to websites like careerone.com.au and seek.com.au to check current pay levels for jobs like yours.

If you are being underpaid, then don’t complain, take action.  Before you approach your employer, document exactly what you have done for your employer, so you can effectively negotiate for a pay rise.  If you don’t succeed in getting a pay rise, instead of stewing of the issue, start proactively looking for another job, in which you will be fairly compensated.

The poor rich man syndrome

If you spend more than you earn and you feel stressed out and debt-ridden in spite of earning above the average salary, then you might be suffering from the poor rich man syndrome, which is basically not earning enough to support the materialistic lifestyle you desire.

In Australia, we tend to define ourselves by what we consume (the private school, overseas holidays, new car, locality of our house), rather than by what we produce.

As long as you continue living beyond your means and defining yourself by what you own, then you will continue to feel overworked, stressed out and underpaid.

If you are being paid the appropriate compensation but still fee underpaid, then you have two options.  One is to change your occupation to a higher paying one.  The second option is to simply live within your means. 

You’re not being compensated for the overtime you do

If you put in loads of overtime, but don’t get paid for this, you can feel underpaid.  In fact many people working on a salary do get underpaid, if you added up all the additional hours working in the office, checking emails over the weekend and managing projects outside of work hours.

If you are working overtime, with no additional compensation, then your solutions are changing jobs, changing expectations, or changing how you work.   

Work is getting in the way of a good life

No matter what you are paid, if work is getting in the way of watching the kids grow up, or you simply hate your job, then you will feel underpaid.

Conversely if you love your job then even if you are in reality being underpaid, you won’t feel underpaid.

So the key is to find a job, which brings job satisfaction, as job satisfaction trumps compensation almost every time.

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