Punching Above Your Weight: How to Get a Pay Rise, a Promotion or a New Job in the Age of Boris Johnson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on his way out… Exactly one year ago, in anticipation of the lifting of most restrictions in the midst of a pandemic, he dramatically proclaimed 19 July 2021 England’s “Freedom Day”. As this "historic" day was approaching, the delta variant began to spread in the UK in strict accordance with this dramatic plot. As a result, infection statistics began to approach the level of the previous winter, while Boris Johnson himself was forced to isolate himself right on the eve of “Freedom Day”.

In this situation it seemed that if he really managed to achieve "herd immunity" on a nationwide scale then he would be eligible to get nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Economics. And perhaps he would even be an excellent candidate to receive the Nobel Peace Prize too.

If the experiment would be a failure then it was highly likely that Boris Johnson would have to return to journalism and continue to write his weekly column for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, while receiving his annual salary of 250,000 pounds (300,000 US dollars or 295,000 euros). He openly admitted that he was spending 10 hours a month writing this column at a monthly cost of 20,000 pounds, or 5,000 pounds per article, for the newspaper, according to The Guardian.

The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics, at the same time, reported that in 2021 the annual mean average salary for full-time workers in the UK was 38,131 pounds. If part-time workers were included, then the annual mean average salary would drop to 31,447 pounds.

Why is there such a huge difference in pay? Let's dig deeper into this topic.

The thing is that in the UK real wages, after substracting the rate of inflation, have been experiencing a period of declining growth rates for quite some time now (see Picture 2 below). Bank of England Governor Mark Carney was even forced to admit back in 2016 that "over the past decade real earnings have grown at the slowest rate since the mid-19th century". Due to the current spike in inflation UK real wage growth has remained weak over the past six years.

Economic theory says that faster growth in real wages is associated with faster growth in labor productivity. However, the rate of labor productivity growth in the United Kingdom has been falling since the 1970s (see Picture 3 below). As a result, the labor share of national income has been steadily declining too. Now it is just below 60% compared to 72% in 1975 (see Picture 4 below).

What conclusions can be drawn?

1. Today it is hard to believe that a year ago our minds were obsessed with the pandemic. This does not mean, though, that in the fall our minds will not be preoccupied with the epidemiological situation again. This demonstrates how fast our circumstances and priorities can evolve in today’s rapidly changing world. This also shows how inaccurate can be predictions made even by the most intelligent and well-informed individuals in these uncertain circumstances. Thus, making predictions about your future workplace or business situation is likely to yield similarly inaccurate results. That is why in times of rapid change it is better not to try to predict what will happen. Instead, the wisest way is to focus on protecting yourself from the most unpleasant outcomes. After all, we buy an accident or fire insurance policy to mitigate and limit the impact of the worst possible scenarios rather than hoping to receive an insurance payout.
2. In recent years, there has been a trend not to place a particularly high value on labor. One explanation for this trend may stem from the fact that labor productivity has indeed experienced dramatically lower rates of growth. As a result, an average employee is?not expected to make a significant contribution to the success of his or her company.
3. Additionally, globalization enables companies to outsource many jobs overseas or attract migrant workers. This certainly undermines the competitiveness of local workers and their wage bargaining power.
4. To gain a competitive advantage start looking for a different occupation or try to improve your professional skills if your current occupation has a high potential to be automated or outsourced (see Picture 5 below).
5. Mentally prepare yourself to leave your current job at any moment. The strategy of building a long-term career within one organization is rapidly becoming less effective. Furthermore, the higher you climb the corporate ladder, the more likely it is that you will have to leave your current job due to the rising competition for a small number of well-paid positions.
6. Most importantly, given there is a trend not to place a particularly high value on labor, increasing your personal appeal through media events, public relations activities, self-promotion and self-marketing comes to the fore. In the age of Steve Jobs, Silvio Berlusconi, Paris Hilton, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian and Boris Johnson, success in business, politics, entertainment and other activities is largely determined by the ability to "punch (read: market) yourself above your weight".
7. In practical terms this means that you need to be media-savvy. Start writing your blog, be active on social networks, launch a YouTube or TikTok channel or create an Instagram account. If possible, participate in online events and presentations, TV and radio shows as well as write newspaper and magazine articles. Humility, modesty and shyness, even if you work hard, will not help you negotiate a pay rise, get a promotion or have a successful job search.

Boris Johnson is living proof of this trend. He is unlikely to receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Economics as well as the Nobel Peace Prize. He is also unlikely to get nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature for writing his weekly columns. Still, his writing endeavors within the framework of an intentional strategy of media eccentricity served as an excellent springboard to become Mayor of London, Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister. At the very least, he will simply return to writing his opinion pieces, while receiving 5,000 pounds for 2.5 hours of work per week. He himself described this rate of pay for his hard and arduous work as "chicken feed".

Remember! To punch above your weight in the age of low labor productivity and real wage growth, coupled with automation and outsourcing, you should be able to market yourself and eventually sell yourself above your real value!