Just found out my coworker with the same title makes $12k more than me

I was helping our new hire fill out some HR paperwork last Tuesday and accidentally saw a salary spreadsheet left open on my manager's desk. My coworker Sarah has the exact same job title as me, same level of experience, and she's pulling in $12,000 more a year. I've been at this company for 3 years and thought I was doing okay with raises, but now I feel like I've been played for a fool. I checked sites like Glassdoor and Payscale after that and apparently our company pays way below market for our role in Dallas. The worst part is Sarah and I literally have the same responsibilities and she even asks me for help sometimes. Has anyone else found out something like this and actually negotiated a fix without getting fired?

3 comments

3 Comments

troythompson2mo ago

HR accidentally left a spreadsheet out? Sounds like she wanted you to see it. That's your cue to dust off the resume and have a chat with your boss about market rates.

spencerm462mo ago

Walked into my boss's office the next day after finding something similar on a desk. Told him I knew what the company was paying people in my role and asked straight up if he wanted to keep me or let me find out. Got a 15% bump by the end of the week because he knew I wasn't bluffing. Sometimes you gotta call their hand before they call yours.

julia_patel1mo ago

Jumped into a meeting with HR the very next day after I found out a new guy was making $15k more than me. I brought printouts from Glassdoor and Payscale showing the market rate for our role in Phoenix, plus a list of my accomplishments from the last two years. They tried to brush me off at first saying it was a budget thing, but I told them I'd be happy to take that data to their competitors. Got an $11k raise within two weeks and a promise to review salaries across the team. It's scary to push back like that, but silence only keeps you underpaid.