Posted by Your boss can’t wait to tell you the good news: You’re such a company superstar, she says, she’d like to promote you—but the catch is that the title bump comes without a salary increment.
While promotions and increment often do and should go hand in hand, in today’s economic environment, more responsibility and more moolah aren’t always synonymous. Beyond working for a company strapped for cash or getting an offer smack in the center of a boss’s budget year, some companies just think “they can get away with paying you less than you are worth,” says Alexandra Levit, career expert and author of Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe. And that’s never OK.
But there are moments in your career life you might consider taking a promotion without an accompanying boost in pay. “Money is terrific, of course, but it’s not everything,” points out Alison Doyle, job search expert and CEO of Career Tool Belt. Considering that, check out these five times it might behoove you to take on more while making less.
1. You plan to move to another company—and this new title or position will help you get there. “If you aren’t happy at your current company, and don’t feel like you’re being adequately paid, you can leverage a new title to make more at a different company,” says Dan Schawbel, millennial workplace expert and author of Promote Yourself and Me 2.0.
2. The promotion doesn’t include financial incentives, but it comes with other benefits. “You might consider taking a promotion without a raise if you are receiving increased compensation in other ways, such as stock options, bonuses, flexible work, etc.,” says Levit.
3. The promotion is actually a lateral move. “Lateral moves are wise because you get to know another part of the business,” explains Connie Thanasoulis-Cerrachio, career coach and cofounder of Six Figure Start. “This could either build on the strengths you already have, or perhaps you’ll need to develop a completely new range of skills.”
4. You’re going back to school to pursue an advanced degree. While the extra income would certainly help keep your graduate school costs down, “a better title might also give you an edge in the application process,” Schawbel points out.
5. You’re creating a brand-new role for the company. “This happens when you have an idea and you grow it from the ground level, in a way that adds value to the company,” describes Connie Thanasoulis-Cerrachio. When you’ve proved that value, she says, “then you ask for a raise.”
Of course, the reasons to turn down a promotion that doesn’t come with a raise are numerous. We should not watch as coworkers take new titles complete with heftier paychecks and accept less for ourselves, nor should we take a promotion that significantly adds to our workloads without compensation to cover the cost to our work and personal lives. We should never accept a promotion, points out Schawbel, if we need more money—in that case, it’s time to look for a new job, not a new title.
However, cautions Doyle, “if you opt not to take a promotion, be very careful and diplomatic about how you turn it down. You don’t want to be out of a job because the promotion wasn’t optional and you were expected to take it.” Instead of simply saying no, consider discussing with your boss and human resources department why you can’t accept this new job without an accompanying raise. “It’s worth seeing what other options there may be,” Doyle says.
This article was original post on Glamour.