Should I question my pay raise?

Question

I have been at this company for two years. The first year I received a raise of $1.00. This year I was expecting at least that, since I have been taking on other duties, but I only received 0.75, which is still a good raise (7.5%). My concern is that if I received $1.00 last year and this year I received less, should I question why the drop? Should I ask my boss if I am not doing as good a job? or should I just be happy with that and move on?

Answer 1

I would ask. You can't improve if you don't know you need improvement. If you approach it the right way, you will not sound like you are being ingrateful. Just be courteous, understanding, and polite about it. It may even turn out it was a matter of their ability to increase your pay, rather than your performance. The only way to find out is to ask.

Answer 2

I would most definetly ask your boss, there is no harm in asking. Just ask your boss is there something you are not doing right and what can you do to improve upon it. If your boss says nothing is wrong than ask why your raise was less than last year. By asking your boss these questions it will make he/she think twice about your performance next year and you might not get a lesser raise next time around. So go for it.