What company is this?
15% Salary cuts for everyone.
You need to talk to an employment attorney: even just to find out if you have a valid case. That compensation disparity is insane.
I am shocked at ALL of these stories. I thought my situation was bad, but apparently itâs bonkers all across the industry!
For 15 years of experience, you deserve the pay that comes with it!! That is insane. I think the racism is important to note in this industry, because Iâm not blind to it either. Iâve seen coworkers treated differently based on how âwhiteâ they look and act. Also if youâre single or married, wear a ring, Or would be willing to do things not ordinarily accepted in a workplace⌠makes a huge difference too with old men bosses. Religion also plays a role, and definitely age, your ability to speak EnglishâŚthey clearly discriminate regardless of the âequal opportunityâ speech. Then thereâs those after work happy hours at the bar across the street with your boss and co-workers. It all is very wrong.
Unfortunately, some bosses already have their minds made up before you even step foot in front of them. You might want to seek out a new place to work and get your well-deserved and well-earned raise. Double your current salary and ask for that, since clearly a white version of âyouâ can earn that much. 42k could be a whole employeeâs salary all on its own! Good luck in the time of covid!
2 Likes
I just read your post here⌠Geesh!! I donât know how you havenât lost it at work by now. I truly believe in sharing your salary with co workers. Iâm so happy for sites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn even tho they can be a bit off. Further more I fully support coworkers sharing their salary. It would make what youâre company is currently doing to you a non starter. I hope you can eventually find another place that pays you what your experience is worth.
2 Likes
I have definitely been taken advantage of based on being a childless young woman in a major city. It seems like my time is perceived as less valuable and pay less important than if i were an established older male with a family to support.
I was told in a review once that even though there was no overtime and I was legally working a 9-5, I should really be staying in the office until 7 â and working on weekends. Noped out of there.
5 Likes
I was told the exact same thing during my review!! OmgâŚI wonder if itâs the same company.
Same! No end in sight and no idea when Iâll get anywhere near what I was making pre covid. Itâs robbery!
Entire company furloughed for 2.5 months. Returned as a reduced team (didnât even address the fact that some of our coworkers did not return at all) to work at regular salary, then salary cut by 30% about 2 months after returning. Working a reduced schedule to balance the pay cut, but workload has tripled. Anticipating this revised schedule until at least October but no exact end date has been given.
Reasoning given - buyers are liking product but not placing. However, I have knowledge that I have been intentionally left off my POs - possibly to make it appear as if we have no orders coming through still. (I have always been included on my orders in the past).
3 Likes
@dressedup Thatâs shady as hell⌠why even bother bringing people back to disrespect them like this???
We had 3 weeks full pay probably covered by government and then whoever wasnât payed off was cut to 3 days. For a few employees they were better off with unemployment rather than 3 days. We resumed full pat beginning of August but with 5 days in office. No remote
I think many companies treat people like crap because they know people will put up with their bull because NYC is so expensive to survive. Plus thereâs strength in #sâŚwhile there are some fashion companies out there that arenât toxic, there are just as many, if not more that are. Iâve also met people who will put up with toxic places if the company is a prestigious name and/or if they have popular licenses. Many people I know will either stay at a particular company because they feel it ultimately will be âsame sh!t, different dayâ if they switch employersâŚESPECIALLY hear this from people who have worked in the industry for at least 10 years or more.
7 Likes
@KTMERCH my question was rhetorical but you are absolutely right⌠itâs just unbelievable what we have to go through just to make a living and do what we love. Iâm tired of designers being taken advantage of and disrespected.
Iâm not a DesignerâŚbut Iâm on the Merch/PD side. I honestly feel Designers often donât get the respect and consideration they deserve. For example, Iâve worked with Sales/Marketing people and even the owners of the companies who expect Designers to create a ton of renderings with a snap of a fingerâŚas if a Designer is a freaking conveyer belt! Yes, our industry is fast paced, but since Designers & Product Development people are the ones who brainstorm ideas and you bring them to life, it is so easy to get âcreative blockâ once weâve consecutively produced a certain amount of concepts. Having breaks, such as being allowed to take an afternoon or even full day to shop the market for inspiration should happen more than it does at most companiesâŚnot frantically running out during your lunch break!
4 Likes
thatâs awful, and completely unfair.
Is it truly normal that most of companies offering salary in Covid cut rate nowadays?
@grandpoobah
I know most of my friends/peeps who âsurvivedâ working with paycuts 10-30% in NYC
I havenât got single interviews/calls since end of July, getting very frustrated and scared of how long this would be lastâŚ
If I got a job offer, should I expect the salary would be offered in much lower rate as well?
Any insight who recently got a job or final interviews??
1 Like
Just from conversations Iâve had with people in the industry, I think itâs safe to say a job candidate EASILY has close to a 75% chance of being offered a lower salary than what they should receive. Letâs be realisticâŚmany people (unless you were getting a job offer at a company where you are either a friend, family member, or apart of their community) were getting lower salaries for years even before the pandemicâŚeven if the job candidate was clueless and thought they were content with their salary. So now that many companies have been financially slammed this year, they have a legitimate reason to offer lower salaries. And while not every company is unethical, you better believe there absolutely will be companies out there who can afford to pay a candidate their market valueâŚbut they will use the excuse of covid-19âŚall while paying their friends, family, and the particular new employees who they feel represent their âcompany cultureâ top dollar or at least closer to their particular market value.
I feel AT LEAST during the next 12 to 18 months, job seekers should expect the following to be âcommonâ:
-
You will get a permanent full-time role, but your salary will be below your market value.
-
If youâre blessed to actually get within your true market value for a permanent F/T role, expect to be doing the work load of 2 to 3 peopleâŚeven if youâre not told this once joining a company, it should be safe to feel the majority of companies will have a smaller staff 3rd & 4th Qtr 2020 as opposed to what they had around the same time last year and even 1st Qtr 2020.
-Due to uncertainty as to how soon it will take the economy to totally get back to ânormalâ, many companies will offer more temp-to-perm positions or long term contract roles until they experience a few CONSECUTIVE quarters of healthy sales. The CDC has said the US is in for a bumpy ride this fall/winter due to a âround 2â of covid-19 (and letâs get real, there are areas of America that are still in âround 1â because people either feel this virus isnât real or they feel it will not affect them). The longer places are on lockdown, the longer people are either unemployed or underemployed making lower salariesâŚwhich means people will buy less fashion related items due to lower disposable income.
As far as interviewing, I think many companies are collecting resumes and waiting until Sept/early Oct to start interviewingâŚespecially NYC companies.
5 Likes
Appreciate your time to write it down so thoroughly.
Like you mentioned, heard from my friend that her company is hiring but the given salary is like 30+% reduced.
Iâm still looking for a job, but feels like you have to take whatever the offer without any negotiation or even trial nego would be denied âtake it or leave itâ
Our industry is struggling, but its somewhat evil theyâre taking advantages of hard working talented people.
2 Likes
I was furloughed in early April, after having a 20% salary cut (which was dependent on salary level). Furlough was supposed to end in July, then got pushed to September, and now pushed again until October. I am just hoping to get back to work, lower salary or not. Employers do feel like employees should be âluckyâ to even have jobs; quite frankly, I feel at their mercy right now
1 Like
Sorry to hear thatâŚif I were in your shoes, I would take this time to update your resume and donât be afraid to apply for jobs (as long as youâre not working for a company within the community and donât want to risk forwarding your resume to a blind ad by another company within the community.) Perhaps make a list of your top 10 âdream companiesâ and try to network with a HR and VP of the dept you wish to work in through linkedin?? That way you kind of have a head start in the event you find out in October youâve been cut. These are desperate times and NYC and LA are NOT cheap places to liveâŚyou have to look out for yourselfâŚyou know the business owners are!
And if you are a designer and have the software at home, why not pick a couple of fashion trends for Fall/Winter 2021 and create a couple of trend boards and/or small design capsules? That way, you could submit that with your resume to your dream companiesâŚit would show youâve kept yourself busy while waiting to see if you still have a jobâŚ