Hey Millennials, Watch What You Say About that New Job, Promotion or Raise
You earn a raise or a promotion, and the first person you want to share the good news with is your significant other or a close friend. It’s instinctive.
But these days, it’s best to proceed with caution—especially if you’re a Millennial. If your bestie isn’t doing so well at work, news of your big promotion or bonus could strain the relationship.
“Work trajectories are incredibly unpredictable for all generations working today, but particularly for Millennials in the early years of their careers,” says Lindsey Pollak, author of the new book Becoming the Boss: New Rules for the Next Generation of Leaders. “With young professionals leaving jobs more quickly and the barrier to entrepreneurship quite low thanks to the Internet, it is likely that Millennial friends or significant others will have widely disparate levels of career or financial success.”
Friendships can be tested when there are income differences at play. When one friend has a lot of money to spend on fancy dinners, shopping trips and lavish vacations while other friends are struggling to pay the rent, says Pollak, it can lead to disagreements over how to spend time together or, at the least, a bit of discomfort.
So how should you break the news of a promotion, salary increase, or job change to a close friend who’s struggling financially or career-wise?
First, take a moment to empathize, Pollak says: “Ask yourself what you would want your friend to say if the roles were reversed,” she says.
Then, try to give the news a more sensitive spin. Concentrate on sharing it in a humble way, says Pollak. And as a general rule, leave out specific numbers, like the size of your salary increase. In other words:
"I'm really excited—I just found out I got a promotion to the associate role I've been wanting!"
or
"It looks like I'll be getting a nice bonus at the end of the year. Can I take you out for drinks to celebrate?"
rather than
"I am getting a huge raise—like $35,000 more than I make now! Can you believe it?!"
Depending on the friend and how close you are, you may decide that it’s best to stay mum. “It's really a personal choice depending on your relationship and how public the news is," says Pollak.
But keep in mind that not sharing can be just as hurtful, in some cases. "No friend wants to feel that you excluded him or her from your career news because he or she isn't as successful,” says Pollak.
Finally, what if your significant other is the one who’s struggling?
“Characterize your success in terms of 'we' -- especially if you are in a long-term committed relationship,” says Pollak. “And use your promotion as an opportunity to thank your partner for being supportive and helping to make your success possible.”
If that doesn’t do the trick, she says, “then you might want to look at bigger issues in your relationship.”
Farnoosh Torabi is a contributing editor at Money and author of When She Makes More: 10 Rules for Breadwinning Women. She blogs at Farnoosh.TV.