In this series, manpower reporter Tay Hong Yi offers practical answers to candid questions on navigating workplace challenges and getting ahead in your career. Get more tips by signing up to The Straits Times’ HeadSTart newsletter.
A: Yes – depending on factors such as job role, job mode as well as industry and corporate structure, says Ms Betul Genc, senior vice-president and head of Asean at recruitment giant Adecco.
“In commission-based positions like sales, consulting or freelance work, high performers who consistently exceed their targets can significantly increase their earnings through commissions, or short-term incentives which would result in a higher overall compensation.”
Those who work on projects, like freelancers and consultants who are sales- and service-driven, could also earn that much.
Those in contract roles, especially senior positions that require specialised expertise such as those involved in mergers and acquisitions, often command a pay premium as well, Ms Genc adds.
The premium paid for such contract roles reflects the short-term time pressures of settling into such an important role quickly, and bypassing permanent roles that such prime talent readily qualify for, as The Straits Times found out previously in a podcast.
Some employers may also offer a completion bonus at the end of the project for contract roles, Ms Genc notes.
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Those with highly coveted technical skills that are critical to an employer’s competitive edge and bottom line can also draw a higher salary, even if they have lesser management responsibility than their bosses. This situation may be seen in start-ups and sectors like technology, consulting and healthcare, Ms Genc says.
“Additionally, transparent pay structures and performance-based compensation can also impact overall salary levels regardless of hierarchy,” she adds, underscoring the delinking of pay quantum from rank.
All this is happening as matrixed organisations become more prevalent, with people reporting to different individuals, based on how job tasks fit together, rather than hierarchy or location.
This growing de-emphasis on hierarchy and location provides fertile ground for such salary trends to take root.
A 2023 report by the Wall Street Journal found a rising trend of employees earning more than their bosses.
One key reason is the desire to keep top experts focused on what they excel in, rather than managing people or dealing with administrative tasks.
The report also found that employers may adjust wages based on cost of living, so a leader in a lower-cost area may earn less than employees in a higher-cost place.
However, bosses must be humble enough to understand and accept the situation, yet project authority when needed.
For their part, employees who earn more should still respect the reporting relationship’s importance to getting work done, according to those the financial daily spoke to.