Dive Brief:

• Just over 40% of workers haven’t received a salary increase in the past 12 months, according to a survey of 1,500 full-time employees by BambooHR. For those who did get a raise, the average salary increase was 4.6%, compared to 6.2% in 2022.
• Notably, women seem to be significantly less satisfied with their salary; 27% expressed frustration with their compensation, compared to 15% of men.
• While a little over half of workers described themselves as happy or content with their salary, most could still be tempted away. Nearly 3 in 4 would consider leaving for a higher paycheck, but it would take an average increase of 13.3% to get them out the door, BambooHR found.

Dive Insight:

As HR leaders work to balance retention with budgetary demands, the perennial question of what workers value more — tangible elements of the job, like a competitive salary and strong benefits package, or more intangible elements, like flexibility, a vibrant culture and empathetic leadership — rages on. The answer is likely more complicated than just one or the other.

For example, respondents to a September report from HP Inc. said they’d take a 11% pay cut for more empathetic leadership and above-average employee engagement and a 13% pay cut for greater flexibility. And last January, surveyed workers told security platform provider Cerby they would take a 20% pay cut for more trust from their employer.

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