A TON of people think they are underpaid. Most aren’t.
They have no idea what their actual value is but assume that since they’ve been hanging around the same job for a while, they ought to be worth more than they are. Or they have the “I Deserve a Raise Mentality/Syndrome” and believe their resentment towards work qualifies them for a raise.
For the few people that are “underpaid” (in the sense that they are paid less than their replacement cost), there is a better way to view the situation.
In order to maintain long-term employment, you need to create more value than you are paid at a price comparable to your replacement cost. For example, if you are making your company $100,000/yr, and you are getting paid $70,000/yr, you will only keep your job in the long-term if it costs ~$70,000 or more per year to find a replacement who can create the same amount of value.
Viewing your ongoing employment through this lens, if you are “underpaid”, you are more secure in your employment. You are creating a greater profit for your company than would be available with any replacement. You are trading financial compensation today for an increased likelihood of financial compensation in the future.
This buffer zone of security is an asset. It is the type of thing that you will never notice but would mean the difference between getting fired or keeping your job during a downtime. When you are underpaid, you actually have a larger buffer zone.
Understanding “underpay” as an Employment Buffer Zone does not mean that you should never push for higher pay. There are scenarios where people should raise the stakes on their employment and push themselves through the higher expectations that come with higher wages. But it is important to remember that making less money does not mean you are being exploited, it means that you allocating more of your value to your employment relationship partner, which has its own benefits.
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