The company I work for has a different strategy. They separated when reviews, and therefore raises and bonuses are given from the upper management to the lower level staff. Lower staff go first. When it comes time for lower staff raises and bonuses there’s talk of ‘tightening belts’ and ‘bracing for a recession’ during communication meetings. A few months later when it’s time for upper management it’s ‘Record profits!’.

Of course the lower level staff are given bonuses and raises based on those poor projections, while upper management gets theirs based on record profits.

If you keep your long term lower staff happy with very low raises and bonuses you not only save the money for your upper management in the short term, but also ensure that long term even a return to normal raises saves them money overall.

This is why I remind my coworkers that it is federally protected to share your wage and discuss it. They only get away with this if the long timers don’t speak with the new hires and realize how badly they’re being shafted.