— A poetic take for those who are NOT happy with their appraisal

But I worked so hard,
Met every deadline,
Fixed the project stuck in time,
Took the lead, stayed up late,
Pitched in early, showed up great.

So why not a hundred percent?

Why just forty-five?

Didn’t they see the extra mile,

The will to try, the fire to thrive?

Dear one—

Yes, we saw it.

Yes, it mattered.

But not all effort gets paid the same,
Some wins are slow, some never named.
The dashboard you built,
The process you shaped,

That one line of code that saved the day—

It’s not forgotten. It’s in your file.
Maybe not in numbers yet,
But it’s in our smile.

That trip to Spiti to find your peace?

We didn’t count it against your piece.
Your delay was accepted,
Your intent, understood.
You are valued far beyond what’s written in the book.
It’s not wasted.
It’s not gone.
It just isn’t money. Not yet. Move on.

Because your salary slip—
That cold PDF—
Isn’t your worth,
Isn’t your breath.

Your real raise is:

The client who trusts you.
The teammate who counts on you.
The growth in your tone,
The calm in your chaos.
The joke you cracked in a 6 PM meet.
The grit in your “I’ll try again next week.”

You’re not your number.
You’re your journey.
So grow your skills,
Find your tribe,
Laugh a little louder,
Fail and revive.

Because someday soon,
That raise will come.
Not just in Rupees—
But in who you’ve become.