Boss directly blocks tech contractor's raise due to lack of "leadership" despite them not being in a leadership role at all: 'I was genuinely taken aback'

There was a time and a place when staff retention was an organization's top priority, and it was a point of pride and honor to have and care for long-standing employees. My grandfather worked for the same company his entire life—though he was famously mocked towards the end of his career by a notorious executive (who would go on to publicly defraud the large corporation for millions.) My father was nearly the same, working for the same organization from before I was born until his retirement with a healthy retirement package to coincide with his long service.

Somewhere along the line, this switch flipped; there was no longer pride in retention and long-serving staff—or the reaping of the benefits that come with a skilled workforce. Now, budgets are clutched tightly, with there seldom being increases in budgeting for the purpose of raises and retention. Instead, they are shortsightedly pouring what little amount of the staffing budget remains once the executives get their bonus into hiring at "competitive" rates. Meanwhile, they save a buck on the staff who can't or won't leave and, year by year, fall behind in competitive compensation. This, of course, goes doubly for contractors who are constantly walking on thin ice, getting no benefits, and more of a convenience than anything else.

This tech contractor had their contract extended some time before their one-year mark of working for the company; they waited until the end of their first year to approach their "employer" and "ask" for a raise. (Really, if this were a true contracting scenario, they would tell their client they were charging more.) Upon asking, they were told to go away and come back with some reasons why they felt they were deserving of increased compensation.