Costs are increasing whilsts salaries are not. We expect inflation every year; but this year’s price hike situation has been exceptional. As predicted by analysts, the cost of living in Africa has been on the increase, confirming the label, “the year of squeeze” that analysts gave to the year 2022.
The cost of living is the amount of money needed to cover basic expenses such as housing, food, taxes, and healthcare in a certain place and time period. The cost of living is tied to wages. If expenses are higher in a city, salary levels must be higher so that people can afford to live in that city. If your organisation is unable to increase your salary, it may be due to one of the following reasons:
Inflation: the increase in prices within the economy as a whole. Although it seems negative, moderate inflation is a normal part of the way the economy functions. It is detrimental to people when it rises too fast.
Location: considering the cost of living solely depends on your locality and the costs involved in living there, your salary may not be increasing because though things are generally expensive in life, cost of living where you are may not have increased that much.
Job Performance: How you are compensated depends on how well you execute your job duties and responsibilities. If you are exceeding your employer’s expectations, it will be easier to make a case for salary increase. If you are not, well… your salary will remain stagnant in spite of increasing costs all over.
Juliet Schor, an economist running four-day work week trials in the US and Ireland, shared a viewpoint about the future of work and the opportunities it offers. She shared that a four-day work week addresses the problems of: burnout and depression, inequality of race and income, the climate crisis. She believes in embracing the wealth of our humanity, ingenuity, and compassion, it will spur the working world towards a better future. Essentially, this begins the discussion around side hustles, and getting more time off work to get alternative means of income. If your employers are unable to increase your salary, they will be willing to consider giving you a four-day work week to give you more personal time to gain alternative means of income!
Do you think your employers need to increase your salary? Or will you prefer more flexibility to find a side hustle to compliment your salary?
