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When our company hired a new project manager, I never expected that my salary would become a problem between us. I had worked at a construction company for almost five years as a project coordinator. During that time, I handled difficult projects, worked with contractors, resolved client complaints, and regularly helped the project manager with important responsibilities. When our project manager resigned, the operations director asked me to take over most of his duties while the company searched for a replacement. I agreed, and for the next three months, I attended management meetings, supervised projects, handled client complaints, and made decisions that were normally handled by the project manager. Eventually, the director called me into his office and offered me the position permanently. My salary increased from $61,000 to $92,000 annually. I signed the new contract, and my promotion officially took effect the following Monday. About six weeks later, the company hired another project manager named Andrew because we had more projects than one person could manage. Andrew had around four years of experience, and although we managed different projects, we shared the same office. I helped him understand the company’s procedures, introduced him to some contractors, and explained how we handled project reports. At first, everything seemed fine. Then one afternoon, something happened that changed our working relationship. We were having lunch with two other colleagues when Andrew started talking about his previous job. He mentioned that he had earned $86,000 annually before joining our company and had negotiated an $88,000 salary for his new position. Then he turned to me and asked how much I earned. I told him I was earning $92,000. He looked surprised and asked why I was earning more than him when we had the same job title. I explained that I had worked at the company for almost five years and had already been handling most of the project manager’s responsibilities before my promotion. He nodded, but I could tell he wasn’t happy with my answer. I changed the subject because I didn’t think our salaries needed to become a lunchtime discussion. Unfortunately, that conversation was only the beginning. 🧵