Creative Ways to Boost Your Pay Power

By: Pat Katepoo, RD

“We don’t have the budget for your raise request.” This was the main reason supervisors denied a raise request, according to 73% of 168 dietitians responding to an online survey I conducted.

Whether budget woes are a reality or an employer smoke screen, dietitians can apply creative ways to boost their pay power in the form of time. Here are a few examples.

Case Study #1

Tracy is a nutrition communications manager for a small food company. She’s been there for three years and enjoys her job, but since getting married last year, she’d been wanting more personal time outside of work.

Tracy’s manager does have a budget for pay increases, and at her most recent performance review, she was offered a 4% merit raise. While accepting her boss’s recognition of her achievements, Tracy negotiated to “trade” her raise for a flexible work schedule of every other Friday off. In other words, she exchanged the 4% increase for a 10% reduction in work hours (eight fewer hours in an 80-hour pay period = 10%) without a reduction in pay.