Half of America’s workers are ready to pile pressure on their employers.
They’ve spent the past two years heeding their bosses’—and the pandemic’s—unprecedented demands. They’ve watched products disappear from shelves, inflation surge and their paychecks’ purchasing power shrink. All the while, wages have been rising and big banks have been boosting top executives’ pay by millions of dollars. The American economy just defied expectations, adding 467,000 jobs in January—far above estimates of 125,000.
Now, America’s workers want more. Much more. About 55% say that they are likely to seek out job offers from other companies to get raises at their current firms, according to a nationally representative survey conducted by The Harris Poll for Bloomberg News.
If offered outside roles, nearly two thirds said they would quit their current jobs. Millennials are the most likely to jump ship, followed by Gen Z, Gen X and Boomers. Among workers likely to ask for a raise soon, nearly all say inflation is a factor in their decision and a majority cited the current economic climate.
“The power has definitely shifted toward the employee,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial market analyst at City Index, a financial services firm. “The labor market is so tight they do have the upper hand in negotiations.”
Kenneth Fung got that upper hand. The 31-year-old tech worker in Virginia was hoping to get a significant raise from the company he’d worked at for four years. When his boss offered him only a 10% pay bump last year, he was disappointed. Fung started applying elsewhere and quickly got an offer from a rival firm with a 70% salary increase.
He decided to accept and even signed the offer letter. But then a friend at work suggested he ask if their current employer could match. Much to his Fung’s surprise, they did—and fast.
Now, he is making about $200,000 a year, up from about $120,000.
“It’s really hard to find good people right now, and so many people are moving around,” Fung said. “It gives a lot of power to the specific employee if you make yourself valuable to your team.”
Just over half of all Americans have ever asked for a raise, according to the Harris poll. And when they did, the results weren’t astounding. Almost three-quarters of them say the largest raise they’ve ever received was less than 50% of their salary.