Company gives employee a 20¢ cost of living adjustment after 5 years of dedicated service: 'Their reason? They needed to pay the C-suite more'

Everyone deserves to feel appreciated at work. 

The number one way that our jobs can show us appreciation is through money. It might be crass to say, but it's true. It's why we have such things as promotions and salary raises. We want to be shown that we mean something to the company, and money is an easy way to do that. Sure, there's more that goes into it than just that. You want to feel valued and uplifted, and told that you're doing a good job when you are. But if after years, you don't have much to show for your effort, then you might be in the wrong place. There is a thin line between toughing it out and asking for what you need. Sometimes you just need to put your head down and trudge through it, and other times you need to draw a line in the sand and make sure your needs are being met. 

When you put in years of effort into a job or a project, you're probably hoping to get something in return. You don't want to think that all your hard work was in vain, and you want something to prove that you're a hard worker. It's only natural for us humans to be a little bit reward-motivated every now and then. Have you ever seen a dog that will only do a trick if there's a treat in your hand? Yeah, that's most dogs, and humans aren't that different from them.