Cash in on some confidence

A study at the tail end of last year suggested that assertiveness in the workplace was hugely beneficial for women – in fact, researchers found that dominant women were generally compensated better than their less assertive counterparts. They also found the results between men and women were mostly the same – assertive employees, regardless of gender, were compensated more, whereas agreeable employees were compensated less. But, women who were agreeable and ‘nice’ had lower salaries than anyone. This aside, depressingly, women are still paid less than they should be, regardless of how agreeable or assertive they are at work.

Payscale.com suggests that a dental nurse earns an average wage of £8.29 per hour, with radiography and implants the highest paying skills associated with the role. Additionally, according to Dental Recruit Network's salary survey last year, London dental nurses command on average £21k per annum, while their counterparts in the north east and north west earn just £15k. Meanwhile, dental hygienists and therapists in the capital earn £51.5k and those in the north west and north east are paid £40k and £42k respectively – leaving a gaping chasm between the DCP groups and the financial rewards. Asking for a raise can take you out of your comfort zone but, in today's economic climate, if you don't ask, you often don't get. To justify a salary increase, you need to consider highlighting your work and its positive effect on the practice in the past 12 months and outline a path for the next 12. This will help your boss see the upside of giving you a raise that you deserve both now and in the future.