How to Negotiate Your Salary During the Coronavirus Pandemic

How to Negotiate Your Salary During the Coronavirus Pandemic             

The entire world experienced a significant change in its lifestyle during the year 2020 with the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic. According to the scientists, the situation has not changed in 2021 either and may continue till an unknown period. While pandemics have hit the earth from time to time, none of them had so many negative impacts on the economic front. Millions of people have lost their jobs, whereas concepts like social distancing, lockdowns, and shutdowns have made the conditions worse for many; whether you are still having a regular job or working online, the salary matters. The pertinent question is how to negotiate your salary during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Negotiating on Salary Revision

While negotiating salary revision is stressful even in regular times, it becomes even more stressful during the pandemic. First of all, one has to look at the situations when salary negotiation becomes necessary. Such situations include –

• When you are informed about a salary cut;
• When you have received a pink slip; and
• When you are starting a new job working from home online.

Such negotiation is also necessary to maintain your standard of living when the employer is struggling to survive with shutters down during the pandemic period. 

You Need to Cover Basic Requirements

While negotiating on salary during the pandemic period, you have to focus on the fulfilment of basic requirements in life that include –

• Food;
• Shelter;
• Clothing;
• Maintenance of communication like cell phone recharge;
• Transportation; 
• Healthcare;
• Educational expenses of children; and
• Other exigencies. 

There could be others depending on the type of family you have and the number of members. However, the above are those areas of lifestyle that cannot be dispensed with in any circumstances. Your salary should cover them, if not anything else, and that is why negotiation with the employer is vital.

 Understand the Salary Budget in Covid19 Pandemic Times 

It is better to understand the salary budget of the employer enterprise before negotiating the salary package. Many organizations have been facing financial constraints and are either reducing the workforce or cutting down the salaries. 

Even the most employee-friendly enterprises are forced to stop the annual salary increase of their existing employees. It is expedient for the job hunters to understand the employer's position and take a balanced approach to fulfil their basic requirements. 

How to Negotiate Salary in Offer Stage

Negotiating salaries in the offer stage could be comfortable for you or any job seeker. But it is still one of the most important times in the process. The reason is that negotiation at this stage can considerably increase the income potential for you if correctly done. For example –

• Take note of the average salary increase in the country;
• Check your potential loss if you start working at a salary lower than your expectation;
• Take into account the time needed to cover the loss; and
• It would help if you also considered the possibilities of the employer holding the bonus and other incentives due to the Covid19 pandemic and losses sustained by the enterprise. 

This means that if you adopt the strategy of negotiating salary in the offer stage, it can help you to make an informed decision on what to expect from the employer while you are on the job. 

The trend of Salary Negotiation 

Many interesting facts came to light during studies conducted by experts on the market trend of salary negotiations.

• Over 70% of employers and managers expected that their employees would enter into a salary negotiation with them; 
• Till the year 2019, around 55% of employees negotiated their salaries; 
• Salary negotiation is growing in the Covid19 pandemic period as many job seekers are resorting to working from home online; and
• A fact is that around 45% of women and 75% of men do not think that they are fairly paid in their jobs. 

A report from the National Partnership for Women and Families reveals that female employees get 80% of the salaries of their male counterparts. Negotiation at the offer stage can help reduction of this disparity. 

A Few Tips on Salary Negotiation in Pandemic Days

It is now a fact that salary negotiation is necessary in coronavirus pandemic times. The question is how to negotiate salaries on such pandemic days, and a few tips can help you in simple and fruitful negotiation. 

• Study the market trends of salary increases due to adverse impact of the pandemic on the economy;
• Though many employers have not stopped the salary increase in 2020, the year 2021 can be a different story;
• Therefore salary negotiation now should aim at getting the pay packet that would cover at least the necessities of life financially; 
• Check the status of the potential employer after the outbreak of the pandemic. You will find all the required information on social networking media sites. You can also check from others who worked in the organization or institute in the past; and
• Do not refrain from asking the vital questions in the interview about the effects, steps taken for recovery, and plans of the employer. 

Asking such questions and gathering the information will help you decide the suitability of the employer company giving you salaries matching your expectations. 

Negotiation is a Give and Take Process

You have to appreciate that every negotiation is a give-and-take process between two parties. The same analogy applies to salary negotiation that is also a give and takes approach. 

• Just like you expect getting fair salaries from the employer, the employer will expect that you will deliver the best through work; 
• Check your qualifications and skill levels to decide whether you can match the expectations of the employer; 
• The market is fiercely competitive because of a growing contingent of job seekers; and
• If you feel that the salaries quoted are not befitting you, it is time for negotiations to get the best deal.
• The negotiation will be more effective when done in the offer stage. 

The bottom line of all these is that in the negotiation process, the candidate will try to get the best salary for his or her experience, qualification, and skill levels; the employer will also look for the most talented candidates to work for his enterprise. Thus it is a process of giving and take for the prospective employer and employee where each of them provides the best. Hence, it would help if you were informed about striking the best deals, including salaries and an educative and informative job portal, which could be the ideal solution.