Have you noticed that people are getting quieter about their paychecks lately?  Not because they’re satisfied with what they are making. Because they are afraid to rock the boat. 

Why? 

Think about it. Every day we are being told that AI is changing everything. The headlines scream that AI is taking over jobs, businesses and even entire industries.   Is it any wonder that prompts one of those little voices in people’s brains to ask…

Should I even be asking for more money right now?

And that results in causing people to freeze. 

They keep their rates the same.

They avoid asking for a raise.

They agree to overwork and other things that they really shouldn’t. 

Just in case.  

They’re trying to stay safe. 

Surprise! I’m going to push back on this a little bit. 

You may not be aware, but the story we are being fed about AI?  It’s not quite reality. 

In case you aren’t aware, some of the same CEO’s who went all in with AI are now admitting something shocking. 

AI is not saving them the time they expected it to. 

It’s not cutting costs the way they thought it would.

And in some cases it’s actually creating more work.

I’d say this means the sky isn’t falling the way they would like us to believe.  It serves their purpose if we believe humans have become optional.  

We haven’t.

At the same time, not everyone is rushing to embrace AI anyway. 

I’m watching people step back from it. 🙋🏻‍♀️

And it’s not because they ‘don’t get it”…it’s actually because they do. 

They are paying attention to how these tools are trained. 

They are noticing that AI models, while popular, still haven’t figured out how to make money.  

They are questioning the fact that models are trained by scraping human creator’s intellectual property. 

They are side-eyeing the huge environmental impact. 

They are even starting to pay attention to the people behind the models and their questionable ethics. (Looking at you, Sam Altman)

As people look deeper than the surface of AI, they are using discernment and deciding it may not be the hot ticket everyone once thought it was.  And that’s fair. There is no shame in changing your mind based on new information. 

So now we have this totally weird mix of things all happening at once.  

Pressure to move faster. Uncertainty about what is coming next and big questions about the tools themselves. 

In the middle of all of that mess, people are lowing their expectations for what they are ‘allowed’ to do in the shadow of Gemini, Claude and ChatGPT. 

And that bugs me. 

Because while of this is going one something else hasn’t exactly slowed down.

The cost of living.

Grocery prices haven’t paused for AI.  

Rent hasn’t said, “let’s wait and see how this plays out.” 

Healthcare definitely didn’t get more affordable and do I even need to mention gas prices at the pump?

The cost of everything around you is skyrocketing. 

Except for paychecks. 

The gap between the two things is widening.  

That matters.  A lot. 

There is a difference between being thoughtful about your next move and quietly shrinking yourself to stay out of the way.   

Lately I’m seeing more of the latter. 

Can I share something with you? 

You don’t need to panic price your value because of a tool that is still figuring itself out. 

You still matter. 

Your experience, judgement and abilities still matter. 

In fact, as the CEO reports mentioned earlier prove, it’s becoming more and more obvious that those are the things that is glaringly missing in AI. 

This doesn’t mean I want you to storm your boss’s office tomorrow or double your rates overnight.  That isn’t my message here. 

I am saying this:

It might be time to take a look at what you’re earning and ask if it actually supports your life now.  Not the life you had two years ago or the life you were trying to build before everything shifted. 

Your life now. 

If you’re working for someone else, maybe that looks like starting a conversation you’ve been putting off.  Not demanding, just a reality check that says, “this is where I am at and something needs to change.”

If you run a business, maybe you need to admit that your current pricing isn’t sustainable the way it once was. 

The truth is, staying where you are has a cost too.  One that shows up in ways that don’t always have a price tag attached. 

Exhaustion. Fear. Resentment. Constant low-level stress that just sits there. 

And over time it all adds up. More than most people realize. 

I don’t think the shift we are in right now is just about learning new tools or keeping up with technology.  I think there is a quieter, less talked about piece…

Deciding that your work actually needs to support your life again. 

Not just ‘getting by’.  Actually supporting your life. 

If you’re someone who is feeling like something isn’t lining up anymore but you can’t put your finger on what to do next I’ve put together some starting points here: 

👉 https://clericaladvantage.com/shift-support/

And if you’re in that space where you’re rethinking what your is even supposed to look like going forward, this might help too:

👉 https://clericaladvantage.com/work-that-loves-you-back/

Look, you don’t have to figure it all out today. But staying quiet about what you need because you’re feeling threatened by AI? 

That’s not as safe as it might feel. 

Here’s to remembering you are allowed to ask for more,