Oh, the chaos. Elon Musk and Twitter. Mark Zuckerberg and Meta/Facebook. Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX. Layoffs. Politics. Inflation. A probable recession.

As humans we like predictability. When we don’t have that, we feel unsafe and insecure.

And yet the world isn’t predictable.

I have talked to a number of employers in California who are worried about having to post their pay ranges.

Their current employees are going to realize how low in the range they are paid.

And the employers aren’t ready to answer the questions from employees.

When you see a pay range, first check to see if it makes sense. Here is a link to a variety of free pay data resources: Free Pay Data — Prosper Consulting, LLC (prosperconsultingllc.com)

Does the pay range that is posted align to what other employers are paying for the same job?

Imagine a triangle and at the points of the triangle are the words health, love, and money.

Anytime you make a decision you are making tradeoffs between these three things.

I love possibilities. I easily see the potential in myself and others.

And I am often disappointed because that potential is not achieved.

I'm thinking of the 18 to 28-year-olds who have options.

Options like a side hustle that brings in revenue.

They know how to be influencers, use digital assets, and pivot in a day.

Sometimes feedback isn’t given with the intention of helping you improve your performance.

There are times when it is given to sabotage your thinking. Or to get you to question your decisions so you make mistakes.

Or if you find yourself thinking, “That didn’t happen that way.” It may be gaslighting.

When an employer communicates a change to employees, they need to answer this question.

Too often I see senior leaders and HR sharing information with employees and their sole focus is on the anticipated benefits of the change to the business and to customers.

While the employees are thinking, “What’s in it for me”?

A weatherman (played by Bill Murray) finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day, and the day keeps repeating until he gets it right.

I feel like I'm living this movie.

It sucks to get laid off. I've been there a couple of times.

You wonder why you were on the list and not a colleague who does less.

You dread updating your resume and LinkedIn profile. And the need to network makes you cringe.

I have a client who says that at the end of each call. It always makes me feel good and I smile.

Sometimes it is the smallest of things that can make a difference.

I love working in the morning before anyone else in my house is up. Hot coffee nearby.

No noise. It gives me time to think and focus.

The amount of time I spend trying to convince employers to increase their communications around pay is ridiculous.

It starts when you are talking to candidates. Put the salary range on the job posting. (Don't lie and make the range narrow or really wide. We see you.)

I'm tired of seeing articles that say women are punished for negotiating. We are. It's just that we can't let this fact get in the way or stop us.

We still need to ask for more.

Have you ever gotten more responsibilities at work after another employee was laid off or resigned?

Don't do the work of more than one person or substantially more complex work without asking for a pay increase and promotion.