With inflation flaring, American white-collar employees have an edge in year-end salary discussions, though it may prove tough to secure raises that outpace surging prices.
The insatiable demand for labor in the pandemic recovery—coupled with record quits rates and a barely changing supply—has fueled wage increases this year, particularly for lower-paid jobs in sectors like hospitality and retail.
Salaries of office staff and higher-income employees haven’t kept up with the growth. But the recent spike in consumer prices now gives these workers more ammunition to negotiate higher pay.
“The increase in cost of living is a feather in the cap for job seekers in negotiating pay with employers,” said Rich Deosingh, a district president for staffing agency Robert Half International Inc. “If you look at positions in bigger cities, such as New York or the Bay Area, wages need to be in-line or above where the cost of living trends are going.”
Give Me A Raise
A University of Michigan survey shows that 1 in 5 Americans expects a raise of at least 10% in the coming year. Whether they’ll get what they want, and whether that’ll be enough to keep up with inflation that is running at the faster pace in 30 years remains to be seen. Either way, pay raises for skilled workers add to inflationary pressures.
Managers don’t want to give in to every demand, but the risk of valuable staff leaving has led many to acquiesce with pay bumps.
Like all human-resources managers right now, Andrea Mullens says one of her biggest concerns is holding onto her staff. She’s taken to adjusting compensation preemptively for some employees to keep them from entertaining offers elsewhere.
“It’s crazy,” said Mullens, who’s vice president of human resources at the cloud-computing division of IT manufacturer Ingram Micro. “The market is inflating, we’ve really seen it.”
One counteroffer that’s become common in her industry is a 20% bump in salary plus a one-time cash bonus to bridge the gap to what a rival firm is dangling. Another way to hold onto employees is accelerated promotions into leadership, which can deliver about a 35% increase in cash compensation.
Mullens, who oversees a 2,000-person white-collar workforce that’s slated to grow “substantially” in the next three years, said that despite her best efforts, she’s seen employee turnover creep up through 2021.
Workforce consultants are now encouraging companies to conduct more so-called “stay” interviews, where managers try to learn more about what motivates employees and what would keep them happy. Despite all the focus on work-life balance and flexible arrangements, that often comes down to money, according to a survey of more than 5,000 employees conducted by McKinsey earlier this year.