Employers worldwide are dealing with the fallout from the Great Resignation, which is otherwise known as an unprecedented amount of people that quit their jobs.
Companies are doing much more to attract talent and keep them. Which means, of course, wage increases and other financial incentives.
Keep reading below to see how much your paycheck could potentially increase.
Survey Findings
Grant Thornton is a professional services firm that recently had a survey where 51% of human resource leaders said their companies will increase wages by 5% or more.
In addition, 68% said they have already expanded the amount of employees who qualify for cash bonuses.
Other think tanks like The Conference Board are predicting a 3.9% increase in wage costs, including pay for newly hired employees.
How To Boost Your Salary
In general, if you’re looking for a higher wage increase, it’s better to switch companies altogether than stay with your current one.
People who switched jobs saw an increase of 4.3% over a 12-month average, says a study from the Atlanta Federal Reserve.
Those who decided to stay with their current employer saw only a 3.2% salary increase.
So it pays to keep your eyes open for other opportunities.
The Demand For Flexibility
Aside from higher annual salaries and cash bonuses, work flexibility is key for potential new hires.
A different Grant Thornton survey of 1,500 U.S. employees states that 51% would take a 10 to 20% pay cut for more flexibility in where and when they work.
People have seen the benefits of saving time each day on long commutes to and from the work office.
This new way of thinking about how and where work gets done will only continue to pressure employers into being more flexible themselves.
Projections for 2022
Gad Levanon is the vice president of labor markets at The Conference Board, and he said that “It is likely that severe labor shortages will continue through 2022. During that time, overall wage growth is likely to remain well above 4 percent.”
The overall wage increase is especially strong for workers under 25 and people who switched jobs in the past year, according to Levanon.
As new hires see an increase in their starting salary, this puts more pressure on employers to raise pay for the entire company.
Key Areas
Lauren Mason is a senior principal in Mercer’s career business division, and she thinks these are areas for business leaders to consider when planning their wages for employees.
Hourly Pay
Because the Great Resignation has resulted in huge turnover rates, as well as overall pay increase across the board, focusing on hourly pay strategies will become key in 2022.
Employee Perspective
Workers everywhere are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed from the pandemic. Employers need to find ways to offer work flexibility and make their overall work experience more fulfilling and compelling.
The bottom line is that with so many people quitting their jobs to find work that is more flexible to their lifestyle, companies are increasing their wages to hire new talent and keep their best employees.
