Throwaway due to personal information, and not wanting this to get out at work. Also, if this is not the right sub for this question please point me in the right direction.
At the beginning of the year I was promoted to a new position with substantially more responsibility. I received a very small raise for compensation, with the explanation being that the company couldn't afford to go higher right away - but I would receive a mid-year review and substantial bump provided my performance warranted it.
Over the past year I have performed the new responsibilities and then some. I have been told by all of management that I have done a great job and have vastly exceeded expectations. I did extensive research and during my mid-year review noted all of my achievements and stated that the appropriate pay for what I was doing was approximately 35k more than I was currently making. I noted that the company is still in it's infancy, and performing slightly below what is ideal, so I asked for a 25k raise.
What I received was a 10k increase in salary, and a performance based (with clear expectations and measurable benchmarks) bonus that would lend me another 7k. It was explained that while they wanted to get me higher that was absolutely the best they could do at that time and keep the company afloat. I was told that as soon as things are better I will absolutely be taken care of because I am highly valued. I was mostly okay with this because it was still a decent increase, and I do want to help grow and advance the company.
Today, due to a glitch with the payroll department, I was sent notification regarding this month's salary changes. To be clear here, it was a link that I could have not clicked... I knew it was an error, and that it was not meant for me. I clicked it anyway. This information includes a raise for another employee, with lesser responsibility, for approx. 20k higher than I am making with my new increase.
This is in the tech industry, and the other employee is a male while I am a female. I do not believe this is a major factor in the decision, but it makes me even more uncomfortable with the situation. To make the disparity more glaring, that individual is part of a team performing FAR below expectations and solely responsible for the poor financial state the company is currently in. Meanwhile, my team is performing beyond expectations.
How do I navigate this situation? I really like the company, and greatly value my team - to which I feel a large sense of responsibility. They'll absolutely struggle if I leave. That being said, I really feel that I was mislead, and am being taken for granted. Though, I think if I explain how I came to know the information about the other employee's salary I will be in a bad situation myself.
TLDR; Saw salary information not meant for me (F), and feel that I am underpaid and was misled when told that the company could not afford my raise, due to them immediately granting that raise+ to another employee(M).
Edit: Clarifying information
Submitted September 19, 2017 at 12:26PM by salarythrowaway11223 http://ift.tt/2xk26Tm
