Many workers have been in a recessionary stupor this past year and many of you feel so lucky to have a job you haven’t even thought about asking your boss for more money.

Well, you better get your name in the raise pot now before you end up with nothing. And I’m talking to you too gals! I know you don’t like to talk about money but it’s time to grow some.

I just got an email from a woman who’s an assistant manager at a clothing company and she just found out, from a former manager, that she is among the lowest paid assistant managers at her company. She confirmed the bad news when she “accidentally” saw another assistant manager’s paycheck.

She wrote:

“Ever since I’ve known it’s been killing me to ask my company for an increase. Is it a bad idea to ask for a salary review? Am I lucky to just have a job in this economy? The company I work for is not doing so bad. I do not trust or like my current manager, so do thing I should ask her boss or write an email to corporate persons?”

First off, I don’t care how much you hate your boss, you have to always follow the chain of command when it comes to salary hikes. Many HR folks I’ve talked to over the years have told me employees who at least try to talk to their direct supervisors before they make a case with the higher ups are seen in a better light.

I know, you might have a bad relationship with your boss, but you’ll have to muster up the guts to sit down with her or him. It’s a good idea to write an email if you really have trouble communicating with this person, asking for a meeting to discuss your progress at the company.

Try not to have an informal conversation with your manager in the hallway, or a quick chat when she or he comes by your cubicle. It should be scheduled, and you could say, “I’d love 20 minutes of your time to discuss this matter.”

When you decide on a time, go in there armed with information about all you’ve accomplished, and I’m talking tangible results. Maybe you helped the company save money, or came up with a way to handle customer service calls that made the process smoother. Maybe you decided to go with a less expensive toner for the printer. Sit back and really think about what you accomplished.

I did a whole column on how underpaid women can get a raise, but the advice applies to both sexes. In it I quoted Suze Orman who offered some ways to ask for what you want:

When you go in to talk to your boss about money, don’t frame it in a yes-or-no question, Orman advises. “You can say, ‘Here’s what I’ve done this year. Here’s how hard I worked. What I want is a 5 percent to 8 percent raise,’” she says. By providing the manager with an either/or it’s harder to just say no. And make sure the lower end of your range is what you’d be happy with, she adds.

Be prepared that you might not get what you want, and at that point you have to figure out if your company is worth it. That means having an emergency fund and as little debt as possible so you are negotiating with your boss from a position of financial strength.

The question in this economy is: “can my company afford a raise?” It seems the reader believes her firm is doing OK, and right now many companies are supposedly opening up their pocketbooks a bit more.

A story in the Wall Street Journal today says some firms are bringing back raises for employees after freezing salaries and even cutting pay.

And maybe business is still slow for your firm, but there are signs that more sales are on the way. You want to make a pitch for yourself, and let your managers know all you’ve accomplished so when the money starts rolling in you’ll be first on the raise list. One CEO told me a while back that when it comes to raises “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” I know, its a dumb cliché but it’s how these things work.

So, do your homework and if you decide your company can afford it, shake off your economic funk and ask for what you’re worth.