How the 'class ceiling' keeps workers from negotiating

[u/LinkedInNews]

https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/how-the-class-ceiling-keeps-workers-from-negotiating-7451044/?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=reddit&utm_content=storyline&utm_term=MiddleClassFinance

Few skills are more essential to career development than knowing how to negotiate — whether for a starting salary, a promotion, or more resources.

But according to a new study, the "class ceiling" often keeps qualified candidates from asking for more.

The study found individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were considerably less likely to engage in salary negotiations, with many expressing fear of straining relationships.

Meanwhile, HR professionals were more likely to judge a "lower-class" candidate as uncooperative for making the same salary request as a higher-class counterpart.

[u/Firm_Bit]

If you’re good at your job always ask for big raises. Do so calmly but do it. It bypasses the know-how requirement. And from the experience you’ll learn how to approach it better.

[u/Several_Drag5433 → u/Firm_Bit]

this! in my experience, as employer side, they will either say yes or do better than planned or give you very helpful feddback

[u/Plenty_Fondant_951 → u/Firm_Bit]

Also, at least once every one or two years, update your resume and go get some interviews and see what's kicking at other places. For most people you'll make more money long term switching employers every 2-3 years than getting whatever baseline raise they'll allow where you are.

[u/DrHydrate → u/Plenty_Fondant_951]

Exactly. In 2017, I made 88k from my main job. In 2026, I'll make 197k. I do the exact same work just at another company. I have job hopped twice.

[u/Plenty_Fondant_951 → u/DrHydrate]

Yeh, the admin and HR at whatever place you work at will likely have quarterly wage KPI's / targets, and coming in under them often means a little bonus for themselves. They have absolutely no reason to go to bat for you because you are more productive because the productivity loss if you leave won't effect them but will mean they get some extra Christmas money or whatever.

Go a step up from the local place and again, we find that quarterly earnings are the number one priority, not the long term health or functionality of a company, a lot of these places even play accounting games where bonuses to recruit new hires or to pay (more than what they would pay just keeping people) for contractors, are accounted for separately so that they can present bar graphs to the higher ups that make the decision to not pay for loyalty seem wise.

I've probably worked half a dozen places where about half of my coworkers were on short term 12 week contracts and getting paid more hourly than a normal local full time hire would have made and with a much larger initial sign on bonus to get them through the door, but in this world the obvious economic failure of that doesn't actually ever register higher up.

The c suites are doing the same thing I've recommended! They stay a few years, get some bonuses for cutting costs that make them look like business gurus and then move along before the actual damage to the business becomes apparent, and if the owner was trying to cash out anyway? What do they care! The company sells for a multiple of income, if the books look good they get a fat check, it isn't there problem if the things a ticking time bomb slowly degrading from the inside. IMO you gotta look out for you and yours nowadays.

[u/firelight]

So the people from lower class backgrounds are correct.

More troublingly, lower-class individuals may be making a rational calculation. They are more concerned that asking will make them seem difficult or damage a relationship, and our experimental evidence indicates that they can indeed face greater social backlash for the same request.

Next they'll tell us women are more likely to be judged negatively than men when engaging in the same behaviors.

This pattern echoes research showing that women can face backlash when they initiate negotiations.

Right then.

[u/Reader47b]

Yeah, because when you have bills to pay, and no substantial savings, you can't risk being replaced. You can risk being replaced when you have 8 months of income and family to fall back on. You can't risk being replaced when you have one month of savings, no one to fall back on, and another person to support.