I have been working in this company for nearly 3 years now. It is a general trading industry with around 200 employees. Environment is good enough. Job level is average. Expectation is high.
When it comes to income however, due to the kind of “general” industry, pay is the average new grads level by default with only a slight 1万 or 2万 difference regardless of age, skills, experiences. Of course that does not represent everything and only for those that I know and could trust the source of information from. On top of base salary, bonus is generally around 1-5x base. 90% are always on the 3x range (the company did share the percentage). Unfortunately yes this is including those who clearly perform very well or not. Obvioulsy, low base equals low overall income, even with 5x.
Recently my Japanese colleague was promoted and said the increase is 5千 to his base. Not to be ungrateful but still. He said it is normal, and even sure that the base salary difference with those higher level than us, even managers, are not even that significant. I couldn’t help but starting to compare input vs output (income vs time spent, workload, employees performance, etc).
I’m not planning to resign (yet) due to this, but while overall everything else feels good enough, it is starting to feel not worth it for long-term purpose. And if one were to expect an increase in overall income and life quality, would they have more chances by changing companies in similar industry as I’m not sure if this is a normal compensation scheme out there too.
What are your thoughts on this guys?
9 comments
This probably very much depends on the industry you’re working in, but even with an entry level of salary of 200,000 that’s only 2.5% and doesn’t even cover inflation. Add to the fact that your colleague got promoted, possibly getting a heavier workload and more responsibilities, that’s pretty damn insulting.
Or your colleague is major pushover or your company sucks. (or both)
>and even sure that the base salary difference with those higher level than us, even managers, are not even that significant.
Somehow I doubt this.
not just in Japan, all over the world the best way to get a salary increase is to change jobs. Also seconded that I doubt your managers are making 20man a month lol
Rule in almost all “respected” companies, the incremental increase after promotion is from 10% to 20% of base; changing job should be from 50% to unlimited
I don’t know, I feel like 50,000 yen increase for a promotion is not that bad.
Especially because it reflects on your bonus too if you have a x/monthly scheme.
I think that you should understand how much potential for a career you have in the company and based on that decides whether to change job.
In general, I think changing every 3 to 5 years is the way to go for me personally.
Edit: oh shit it’s 5,000 not 50,000.
Yeah I wouldn’t really call that a promotion lol
Yes and no. Like if it’s the same industry, same level of role then maybe after a few jumps it will saturate anyway.
Internal move should also be a good way to offset the tenshoku pay increase in general.
However, going back to your post, a 5千円 base increase is definitely a red freaking flag. Like others has mentioned 10-30% is expected usually for a staff > management level. Hell, 5千 is even less than the annual raise in general.
I’d like to think company loyalty goes some ways, but I have definitely seem more examples of faster raises by changing jobs vs staying in a company.
While promotions may generally be associated with raises, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will.
From what I have seen, annual raises of 1 to 2% are common. If you are a shinsotsu and learn quickly, you may get slightly faster raises for the first 5 years, but even that is like 4 to 5% per year. The only time there may be a huge raise is if you have some kind of internal promotion and that could be like 25% to 33%, but even so, it may only occur once every 3 or 5 years if at all.
I think a successful job change could easily get you a 10 to 20% increase every time.
> I couldn’t help but starting to compare input vs output (income vs time spent, workload, employees performance, etc).
Many people avoid getting promoted for this reason.
> but while overall everything else feels good enough
Many people live and die without knowing what it’s like to have a job that is overall feels good enough…
That said yes you should change industries to make more money.
5000 yen increase for a promotion? Find another company. Even another Japanese company should pay more. Like, add another zero more at the minimum. I say this as someone who works for a Japanese company in a non-IT field.
Your income can drastically increase if you switch jobs, but it depends on the industry and how marketable you are.
It’s normal Japanese business practice to negotiate wage rises with unions rather than with individuals. If there’s a union at your workplace, join it. If there isn’t then organise with your co-workers and form one.
Collective bargaining with your co-workers can benefit all of you and may be preferable to job hopping.