4.1.2. Increased Work Responsibility without Increased Pay

Many respondents (8.4%) noted increased responsibility and expectations without increased compensation to match their output. This was especially true for teachers, who often had to prepare both in-person and online lesson plans, engage in more one-on-one oversight of their students, and foster closer relationships with parents. Some of the most telling quotations include the following. One woman stated, "A few employees had quit at my company, and, due to financial concerns, my company chose not to rehire for those positions and instead asked me to absorb their jobs without an increase in pay". Another said, "I feel as though when the pandemic hit, the school district I work for decided to use that as an excuse to 'assign' more duties without asking and just expecting that 'people need a job' so much they'll do anything. If anything, it has made me want to quit and change career paths beyond anything I can explain". One respondent noted that "it has essentially tripled my workload by having to have in-person classes, curate an online course for the same classes that can be done at home and hybridize my classes to make them possible to do regardless of situation, with no pay increase". A final participant exclaimed, "Honestly, it's been awful! I probably work twice as much as I did before. My entire job has changed. I now have to take care of all COVID-related issues first before I can complete my typical work tasks. I have been working late hours and all weekends just to do the bare minimum. I'm barely surviving". Additionally, some respondents mentioned being able to secure a promised improved title change at their company but without the usual expected increased compensation. Hence, they were working harder without additional compensation to match output.
