They chose the moment to talk: how the wrong day can destroy all your arguments

You can come with numbers, graphs, links to the market, but if you choose the wrong moment, then everything is lost.

In October 2025, SakhaPress published an article about autumn being the best time to talk about salary.

Photo: Pixabay The reason is simple: companies are making next year’s budgets. If you managed to declare yourself in October or November, your expectations may fall into the plan. If you came in January, when the budget has already been approved, your arguments lose their validity.

Economist Paul Krugman wrote in a column for the New York Times in the fall of 2025: “In volatile markets, companies become hostages of their own plans.

Even if the employee deserves more, no one will review the budget.” This is the main trap. HR specialists confirm: Monday morning and Friday evening are the worst moments.

In the first case, the manager is busy with the week’s strategy, in the second, with thoughts about the weekend. Timing affects the outcome of negotiations less than arguments.

But there is also a more subtle factor. If the company has just gone through a crisis project or downsizing, talking about money is perceived as pressure.

The manager does not hear numbers, but a threat. And even if you are right, the moment is poorly chosen.
In an interview with the Financial Times in September 2025, financier Kenneth Rogoff noted: “In negotiations, not only the argument is important, but also the context.

Sometimes the right words spoken on the wrong day turn out to be a fatal mistake.”

That is why choosing the moment is not a trifle, but a strategic decision. You can be the best employee, but if you come on the wrong day, your argument will burn in the air.

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