[smokinjoe]

Personally speaking, I worked 2+ years at a company where I slowly realized that I was worth more than what I was being paid. I didn't push for a raise very hard, but the more responsibilities I acquired, the more products I built, the more customers I interacted with, I thought it would be more than fair to increase my compensation.

Every single request was met with a "we'll speak about this at a better time." I would just smile, nod and go back to work. It made me feel bad about myself from the standpoint that maybe I wasn't worth that. Then of course come the friends and family that ask whether I've gotten that raise yet (always a fun conversation..).

I learned that if you want something, you need to go out and get it. If you sit there waiting for a raise, you will never receive one.

So I left the company and found a new job with better pay.

It sucks because not everyone has that option (I'm a stupid, young, single person) and it shouldn't come down to that - but it is a reality of the business world. The fact that the CEO of Microsoft so naively believes that this is how things work is somewhat unsettling.