Compensation and Benefits?… A Joke!

Even though the cost of living in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) is well below the mainland Spain and European average, salaries in the Islands and overall in Spain are also rather low when contrasted to their European Union (EU) counterparts. Typical salaries for employees in Spain range from €12,000 to €18,000/year although salaries of €30,000 to €35,000/year are considered subsistence level in other equivalent European cities. A salary of the latter range would actually be pretty high and basically unattainable for the average Spaniard worker if you take into account that the minimum wage in Spain is €570 a month, which is equivalent to around $800 at the current exchange rate ($1.42 for each euro.) This makes the country’s economy lag behind that of wealthier neighbors in Western Europe.

Since I came to Europe from the USA, I experienced a serious salary shock. I wasn’t prepared for the low salaries that are customary to this country, and I am still having a hard time making a civilized living and having a secure job that actually allows for financial stability. I earn a net salary of less than €1000 a month for working over 40 hours a week, which is equivalent to a salary of a little over $1350. That salary is comparable to a wage of roughly €5.80/hr., which is about $8.25 an hour; a figure that might not seem too bad as it is well above the US minimum wage, but keep in mind that this is because the euro remains strong against the American dollar, but this wage is actually pretty inferior to that of other European countries and America.

If you consider that I have a Bachelor’s degree you, would agree that I should therefore be earning a competitive salary that’s comparable to my level of knowledge and skills, but this isn’t true for me and for most employees working for Spaniard companies; my miserable reality remains dim. During mid-2005 when I was still an undergraduate student, I used to work for an American company established in Florida, where I used to earn $8.50 an hour as a part-timer holding an administrative assistant position. My salary back then was already over what I am, two years later, making at a higher position and after having earned a degree. By that time I also got bonuses and other benefits; for instance, they used to pay double on days off and holidays even if we didn’t work, so I basically earned almost twice as much as I do now, but working less hours.

The question now is; how are young people supposed to make a living in Spain by earning such low salaries and considering they are also likely to have no benefits whatsoever at their present jobs? The European society is worried that every day more and more young individuals are having a harder time leaving their homes and parents to make their own life, and that less and less of them actually move out at an early age. I can tell you from first hand experience that it’s not like I absolutely don’t ever want to leave home, or like I actually expect my parents to provide for me forever, but under the circumstances, I’m currently left without a choice, just like many other young individuals in a similar situation are while residing in Spain.

Given the salaries that most people my age earn, it is almost impossible to make a decent living unless you share floors, are a millionaire or live with your parents. The cost of living in Tenerife like I’ve mentioned, is lower than that of living for instance, in the USA; but since over here we earn much lower salaries, the average cost of covering one’s needs is more or less comparable. The difference, however, lies in the fact that in the States you can make really good money and you can work for companies that actually value their employees and negotiate with them a fair amount of benefits. You can forget about negotiating your salary or enjoying any benefits on this side of the world. Most employers will not meet your salary demands or provide any benefits. Over here you will only get a full month of vacation and some days off during the year since lots of national and local holidays are celebrated in Spain. You can also benefit from commissions if you work in the sales area, but those jobs usually have no base salary or a really low one (typically below the minimum), which doesn’t make things any better.

Another important point that needs to be taken into consideration is the fact that people absolutely need a vehicle to move around the island since the public transportation services are pretty scarce. In addition, and given that real state interest rates keep going up, the picture gets even darker when you realize your expenses surpass your revenues by a considerable amount. Less and less people are able to actually own property while more and more cash layouts are needed to cover an individual’s monthly expenses; and the tendency for single individuals living on their own keeps going down as a single salary isn’t enough to support a family. For this reason, when the time to make job interviews come some candidates forget about the whole “compensation bundle” and concentrate solely on base salary as the single decisive factor when choosing to accept or reject an offer.

Take my friend Yanett for example. She’s a single mom raising two kids on her own. She receives from her ex a total maintenance amount of €300 a month for the two children, which is a ridiculous amount and less than enough to support two kids. Besides that, she carries the responsibility of being a mom and a dad at the same time. She takes two hours every day to get and go back home from work, she works over 40 hours a week and she’s basically working to the point of burnout so that she can support her kids. She takes to and picks up the kids at school, she does the grocery shopping, she cooks and feeds the kids and she makes sure to play with them, take care of them, help them with their homework, do their laundry, make their lunches for next day and also clean the house. She basically has no time for her own whatsoever, and has forfeited the priceless work-life balance benefits needed to have a decent personal life. She can barely provide for both her and her children as by the end of each month I see her suffering, borrowing money and longing for receiving her paycheck so that she can go buy food for her kids.

Of course she’s not the only one in this situation but the reason why she stands apart to me is because she has absolutely no help from any other relatives; not moral, not financial, not physical, and she lives on this island where the job opportunities are very limited and at a country where the salaries are ridiculously low. She lives by herself with her two children, and the ex happens to be an a**hole. For her, like for many other people, money isn't everything; it's the only thing. It has become her highest priority because as much as money may not buy individuals “on-the-job happiness”, professional fulfillment, or guarantee career growth and professional development; after assessing one’s personal financial situation and revisiting one’s career goals; taking any step to new opportunities for fairly small increases is worth the try and the sacrifice; specially when the long-term potential and raise likelihood with current employers are almost inexistent.

Last Friday I went to an interview with a recruiting company located in Santa Cruz, which is nowhere close to where I live. It took me two hours to get there and back, for an interview that lasted no more than five minutes and at which the recruiter asked no questions about my work experience. The interview was at a recruitment agency, as they’re screening potential workers and their resumes before actually sending them to the real employer. Going to that interview doesn’t even guarantee that my resume makes it to the potential employer, but I had to give it a try as much as I know it is a long shot. This is an example of what people are willing to do to improve their working conditions and especially their financial situations. The job is offering a gross salary of €26.000, which more than doubles the rough €12,000 that I’m making right now for doing a job that’s worth much more than what I’m actually earning.

Most professionals want more compensation, especially if they’re being underpaid and if their work is not being recognized. Of course employers want to minimize the amount of salary and benefits that they give out to employees, but they need to be fair and remember that employee morale has a great impact on whether the candidate stays or leaves a job. “Money talks and often just says, 'Good Bye.’''

Image by: Sanja Gjenero @ Stock.Xchng