Employees Quit in Record Numbers Over Perceived Poor Pay

Employment trends expert explains how to manage the tricky topic of raises

QuitA record number of people are leaving their jobs because they are not happy with their current pay. In fact, nearly half of the employees who recently quit their jobs did so because they wanted a raise.

“Employees are being advised that the job market is improving, which makes them believe that this a good time to ask the boss for a raise,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and employment trends expert. “However, not every employer agrees.”

Wilson goes on to point that salary increase levels are uncharacteristically low given how good the unemployment numbers have been.

“We expect national salary levels to increase 3.1% in 2019,” says the employment trends expert. “The vast majority of our clients are expecting to increase their 2019 salary budgets by that same target.”

So, given that raises will be a hot-button topic that many employers will face in the coming months, how should they approach this topic with their workers?

“We recommend that employers review not only employees’ performance to set 2019 salary levels, but also review that position’s pay against internal and external salary data to ensure their top performers are compensated appropriately,” says Wilson.

The employment trends expert also says privacy can be a good idea when it comes to a person’s pay.

“In very few organizations is it a good idea to openly communicate salary ranges for each position to the entire employee population.  We’ve seen this go very poorly in companies without strong total compensation philosophies,” says Wilson.

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.