People Manager - 2 of my direct reports got a pay increase - now we are all on the same salary.

Time to polish the CV.

From my experience people who get an out of cycle raise wont qualify for the annual merit cycle which might explain why you are not getting another raise now.

On the job levelling, are you sure you are looking correctly, generally a manager level is a different stream to an individual contributor (eg individual would be ICXXX and manager would be MXXX).

Assuming you are all graded on the same stream, it does seem to be an issue where a manager and direct reports are at the same level, this is very odd and almost looks like an error or else a dysfunctional workplace as its a case of either you are on too low a level or your direct reports are on too high a level.

I would recommend updating your CV, it takes a while to polish a CV and seek external advice and even interview training. However be aware that getting a "promotion" and jumping ship shortly afterwards is not a great look so maybe wait a while but start the groundwork.

To @Princess Calla reply, I agree with most but sometimes it can be worth the sacrifice to take a title promotion without the expected salary increase as it will open doors externally in the future (eg it can be hard to jump a level straight into a new employer as your CV simply wont be considered).

Unfortunately it's common that people's salary levels within a company do not reflect the abilities or the responsibilities of its employees. In the past I've managed people who had nearly double my income; they were contractors and I was a salaried employee.

If you already got an 11% salary increase this year because of your increased responsibility it's unlikely the organisation would sanction another increase now. You can make the point to your manager that you feel you should be earning more and lay the groundwork for a further increase or a change in pay scale next year. It's always best to emphasise your value to the organisation rather than pointing to what others beside you are earning.

A poster glibly suggested above that you should start looking for a new job. Ignore that advice and ignore the poster. What you've outlined would not be reason enough to quit. If you like your job stick with it and address the salary issue in your next review. If we were all to quit our jobs as soon as we encountered an issue we didn't like, none of us would last more than 3 months in any job.

They're playing you: they've got you to do more work in return for a psychological promotion.

Whether or not you should leave depends on what you can get elsewhere. If another employer wants you, for better money and fewer mind-games - and all other factors are equal - then it may be time to leave and start afresh with a manager who respects you.

If there's no equal-or-better option at the moment, then you need to decide how to deal with the current situation. That could include re-allocating work within the team (if the staff have the same level of responsibility, there's no reason for you to be doing extra!)

The only way to find out if another employer wants you is to get the CV out there and have a look.

"people leader" is such a cringey term to use instead of just "manager", are people seriously calling themselves people leaders these days? Nauseating

Would it not be the same as a team leader?

Depends on the industry and reporting structure I suppose.

In my place a manager might have 20 people reporting into him but it's subdivided to 3 or 4 team leaders , each team would have completely different tasks, experience and deadlines but they all fall under an "umbrella" function, hence manager who then reports into department head.

Now the term "talent acquisition" is the one I completely roll my eyes at 😂

Time to use that title to bag a higher paying job elsewhere.