Ask Anna: How to ask for a raise

In her latest column, our agony aunt Anna Higgs tackles an age-old challenge: how to ask your boss for more money

Dear Anna,

I’m a female manager in a mid-sized business and have progressed fairly well but don’t feel like I’m being paid fairly for how much I do. How do I go about asking for a raise without putting anyone’s nose out of joint?

Anon

Dear Anon,

Ah, the age old money worry. Throughout my career in the creative industries I’ve often come across this strange notion that we’re supposed to do what we do for the love and be grateful – because we’re creatives, that’s all we need to thrive, right? Well, no. I’d love to see Santander’s face if I tried to pay this month’s mortgage with love. I don’t imagine the major supermarket chains take that warm and fuzzy emotion in exchange for cold hard cans of food either.

So firstly, if that’s a worry, set it aside. We should of course enjoy and be energised by our work, but it’s also a transactional relationship at the end of the day. We work, they pay, and hopefully both sides feel there’s a decent value exchange going on. Everyone’s happy.

Except in this instance you’re not.