I found a really interesting post over at Money Smart Life entitled “10 Lies Big Companies Tell Their Employees”. Sadly even though I’ve only been working for 7 years, I have heard all 10. You can find the complete list over at Money Smart Life, but here are my personal favorites:

1. “Our Salaries are Competitive in the Market” - Yeah, right! That’s why everyone is leaving for similar jobs elsewhere. Sadly, my experience has been that if you want to have a salary at market, you have to be in the market. Loyalty unfortunately isn’t rewarded in most cases. It seems like most places have a small cap on percentage increases which isn’t always in sync with the market. Usually the only way to true-up your salary to market is to go somewhere else.

2. “We Reward Excellence” - Not necessarily a lie, but it is certainly misleading. You can be a superstar, but your upside potential is often limited to a pay range specified by HR. Meanwhile, those who are doing the bare minimum will still in most cases get a cost of living increase each year. Does the superstar get more than the slacker? Probably. But is the superstar sufficiently rewarded when comparing his contribution to that of his slacker counterparts? Probably not.

3. “More Money Won’t Make You Happy” – What the hell do you think most of us are working for? It isn’t for the free coffee and ready access to a copy machine – it is for the money! Money isn’t everything of course, but it certainly means a lot more to me than gimmicks like ice cream socials and casual Fridays. Because you let me wear jeans occasionally doesn’t mean I’ll overlook the fact my salary is too low.

What is you favorite lie from the boss? How often have you heard these before?