Should I ask for a raise?

amother

Pumpkin

Sun, Aug 20 2017, 6:33 am

I work in a small doctor practice it is only the doctor and me.
I only go in a couple times a month but work from home everyday.
I have been there about three years now.
His practice is pretty small with not that many patients.
There is not much for me to do so when I am in the office I just sit around and spend much time on imamother 😃.

I never had this type of job before always worked for myself so I don't know protocol .
Could I ask for a raise? If my boss would give me more work to do then I would feel justified but I feel funny asking.
If I do ask how should I do it?

Sun, Aug 20 2017, 6:47 am

If your work makes the practice more profitable, or if your pay is not competitive, be sure to mention it when you speak with him as Amber suggested above.

frumPA

Sun, Aug 20 2017, 9:31 am

Just saw you wrote you were there for 3 years. If you have not gotten a raise since you started you definitely can ask for a raise. That's a long time.

Tziril Miriam

Sun, Aug 20 2017, 10:31 am

If he knows you were on the internet doing your own tasks, he might not want to give you a raise. And health insurance reimbursements to doctors have been going down, not up, so his own income is probably less than what it was 3 years ago.

So make a list of all the additional things that you can do to add worth to your position.
Consider learning, in your free time while on the job, medical coding, so you can process the bills. Learn Quicken or Quickbooks so you can do his bookkeeping.

A great source for online software skills is "Lynda dot com". [Sorry, I don't know how to write web addresses on imamother.]

Show him your plans to upgrade your job responsibilities. After you are able to do more, then ask for a raise. Don't ask for a raise while you are just learning. You are lucky that you can further your education while being paid.

You'll be able to get a better paying job with your increased skills if he refuses your raise request.

amother

Aquamarine

Sun, Aug 20 2017, 10:34 am

On one hand you've been there 3 years without a raise. Seems reasonable to ask for one. On the other hand you are describing a very unusual and unique situation were frankly your boss really doesn't need you that much and you spend chunks of the day on imamother. If you ask for a raise your boss might feel like it's a chutzpah for this person who knows good and well I'm paying her several hours a day for nothing, to ask for a raise.
Honestly, I'm not sure. Tough call.

shatzileh

Sun, Aug 20 2017, 10:49 am

How about "I'd like to be making more money. What kind of other things can I take on to justify a raise in salary?" Then talk about what other things you can do, and don't expect an immediate raise. Make sure to include a time-frame somewhere in the conversation: "So, if I take on x,y,z, I can expect to be making a,b,c. Let's follow up in two months and see if the added work load is working out and talk about that raise."