I’m 23 years old and started working for a construction company specializing in basement waterproofing and foundation stabilization in August 2025. I originally started as a laborer making $18 an hour, which I’ve always felt was low considering how physically demanding the work was and the hours we were expected to put in.
In April 2026, I was moved into the warehouse because the other warehouse employee had quit and they needed someone to help. The warehouse is staffed by just me and one other employee, who was eventually promoted to warehouse manager. Despite being moved into a completely different role with significantly more responsibilities, I never received a pay increase.
Since moving into the warehouse, I’ve become responsible for helping get every field crew out the door each morning instead of just working with my own crew. I operate the forklift, regularly drive the company’s 26-foot box trucks, and was required to obtain a DOT medical card under the threat of being fired if I didn’t. I’m also responsible for showing new hires around the warehouse, familiarizing them with our products, and helping them understand how everything works. On top of that, I’ve even adjusted my work schedule so the warehouse manager can get home in time for dinner with his kids.
What frustrates me most is the difference between my workload and the warehouse manager’s. I’m constantly trying to keep everything running and make sure all the crews have what they need, while he’ll sometimes stand around smoking a cigarette and make me handle small tasks even when I’m already busy with other responsibilities. I feel like I’m doing the majority of the actual work without the title or compensation to reflect it.
Recently, I went to speak with the GM about getting a raise. I explained that my responsibilities had increased significantly since moving into the warehouse, especially considering the DOT medical card, driving company trucks, operating the forklift, and training new employees. He denied my request and told me that these responsibilities were simply part of the new role I had been moved into. He then told me to complete OSHA training online, begin implementing safety practices throughout the warehouse, and take over some of the warehouse manager’s responsibilities before he would even consider giving me a raise. No specific raise amount or timeline was offered.
I understand that taking on new responsibilities is part of moving into a different position, but I don’t understand why I should continue taking on more and more work without additional compensation. If I’m already doing more than I was originally hired to do, why should I have to take on even more before my pay is even reconsidered? The GM himself started as a laborer and eventually worked his way up to becoming a salaried general manager reportedly making around $120,000 a year. Obviously, his responsibilities and compensation changed as he advanced. I don’t understand why that same principle seems not to apply to me.
Another major frustration is the GM’s attitude toward warehouse safety. Company policy requires everyone to wear a high-visibility vest in the warehouse because of the moving trucks and forklift traffic. However, he regularly comes into the warehouse without one, seemingly to see whether anyone will call him out. I believe that, as the GM, he should be setting the example rather than deliberately disregarding a safety policy that everyone else is expected to follow.
On the same day I asked him for a raise, I was training two new employees when he came into the warehouse without a vest. I didn’t notice him at first, and he yelled something along the lines of, “Oh, look, the guy who asked for a raise isn’t calling me out for not wearing a vest.” I found that comment unprofessional, especially considering I was in the middle of training new employees. A few minutes later, he came back down without a vest again, and I directly told him to put one on. He ignored me and continued without it. Later, he returned with several regional managers, who were also walking around the warehouse without vests. I pointed it out again, but they ignored me and laughed.
It’s frustrating to be expected to follow safety rules and potentially take on additional responsibility for implementing them when the people in charge openly disregard those same rules. It also puts me in an awkward position because I have no formal authority over these individuals, yet I’m expected to help maintain safety standards in the warehouse.
On top of everything else, I was recently injured at work, and the warehouse manager told me to use my own insurance. That added to my frustration because I expected the company to take a workplace injury seriously and explain the proper process for handling it.
Even smaller things have started to add up. Whenever we have new hires, the company buys lunch for everyone in the building, but I’m excluded, even though I’m the one expected to spend the day training those new employees. Individually, something like lunch might seem insignificant, but when combined with the lack of a raise, the increasing workload, and the way management treats me, it makes me feel overlooked and unappreciated.
I’m tired of feeling like I’m expected to do more, take on more responsibility, and keep everything running while being paid the same rate I started at as a laborer. I’m willing to work hard and learn new things, but I also believe that increased responsibility should come with appropriate compensation and that management should lead by example. At this point, I’m extremely frustrated with my job and the way I’m being treated, and I’m struggling to understand why I should continue putting in so much effort when I don’t feel that the company values what I bring to the table.