[Global] Recruiter cautions against ‘salary nomad’ work trend

A recruitment expert has highlighted and cautioned against an emerging “salary nomad” work trend, as employees continue to quit their jobs in search of higher pay to mitigate the cost of living crisis, news.com.au reports.

Jane Lowney - global recruitment firm Robert Walters’ Brisbane Director - describes this group as workers who are prepared to “make decisions or follow non-traditional career pathways in order to achieve a better salary”.

The trend can manifest as workers who serially resign from jobs in search of higher pay or people who seek contract roles for the promise of higher rates.

Short-term roles can attract inflated salaries based on demand, however, candidates may be hit with a “brutal correction” if they return to permanent jobs, according to Ms Lowney.

“People will speak to us all the time with a salary expectation that we don’t think is achievable, and we tell them that,” she said.

“There are trade-offs when we think about (jobs) from just a money perspective. I think that’s too narrow.

“It’s then the person’s decision around whether the other drivers that are causing them to move jobs are important enough to have a different conversation around salary.”

In a 2023 salary survey published by Robert Walters, 80 per cent of more than 1000 respondents said they would seek a new role if they did not receive a pay increase above inflation in 2023. 60 per cent of respondents called for a hike of at least 2 per cent above the rate.

Following December’s Consumer Price Index reaching a 30-year high of 7.8 per cent, Ms Lowney told news.com that she expects companies to implement other “cost-of-living measures” that don’t increase their salary baselines.

These measures include benefit packages with childcare supports, wellbeing days, free breakfasts or wardrobe allowances.

“They’re still monetary in value but it doesn’t drive this spiral on wages,” she said.

The job market power is still held by job seekers despite the threat of rising interest rates and the threat of an economic downturn and Ms Lowney is “confident” this is a trend that will continue.

“We’re not hearing the sentiment of ‘I don’t want to move right now because I can be the last person in, first person out,’” she said.

“The confidence level among candidates is really high and demand is really high.”

For those considering changing jobs, for salary reasons or otherwise, Ms Lowney says the one question candidates need to ask themselves is: “Why am I moving?”

“That’s why the concept of rage quitting concerns me because I don’t know people have done the self-evaluation of ‘why?’” she said.

“It might be just ‘the company’s not aligned with my personal values’. That’s okay but you at least need to be able to articulate that, because that will stop you making the decision again.

“I think you have to understand the value of the role in the market, you cannot link it to: I think I am worth this because my bills have gone up 20 per cent.”

Ms Lowney warns that job seekers shouldn’t shortchange the “credibility” and “social capital” people build up after years spent at the same organisation.

“Flexibility comes more naturally when there is a relationship between you and your boss, or organisation,” she said.

“You have to rebuild that kind of social capital in a new organisation and there’s no guarantee they will think about it in the same way.”

Source: news.com.au

(Quotes via original reporting)

A recruitment expert has highlighted and cautioned against an emerging “salary nomad” work trend, as employees continue to quit their jobs in search of higher pay to mitigate the cost of living crisis, news.com.au reports.

Jane Lowney - global recruitment firm Robert Walters’ Brisbane Director - describes this group as workers who are prepared to “make decisions or follow non-traditional career pathways in order to achieve a better salary”.

The trend can manifest as workers who serially resign from jobs in search of higher pay or people who seek contract roles for the promise of higher rates.

Short-term roles can attract inflated salaries based on demand, however, candidates may be hit with a “brutal correction” if they return to permanent jobs, according to Ms Lowney.

“People will speak to us all the time with a salary expectation that we don’t think is achievable, and we tell them that,” she said.

“There are trade-offs when we think about (jobs) from just a money perspective. I think that’s too narrow.

“It’s then the person’s decision around whether the other drivers that are causing them to move jobs are important enough to have a different conversation around salary.”

In a 2023 salary survey published by Robert Walters, 80 per cent of more than 1000 respondents said they would seek a new role if they did not receive a pay increase above inflation in 2023. 60 per cent of respondents called for a hike of at least 2 per cent above the rate.

Following December’s Consumer Price Index reaching a 30-year high of 7.8 per cent, Ms Lowney told news.com that she expects companies to implement other “cost-of-living measures” that don’t increase their salary baselines.

These measures include benefit packages with childcare supports, wellbeing days, free breakfasts or wardrobe allowances.

“They’re still monetary in value but it doesn’t drive this spiral on wages,” she said.

The job market power is still held by job seekers despite the threat of rising interest rates and the threat of an economic downturn and Ms Lowney is “confident” this is a trend that will continue.

“We’re not hearing the sentiment of ‘I don’t want to move right now because I can be the last person in, first person out,’” she said.

“The confidence level among candidates is really high and demand is really high.”

For those considering changing jobs, for salary reasons or otherwise, Ms Lowney says the one question candidates need to ask themselves is: “Why am I moving?”

“That’s why the concept of rage quitting concerns me because I don’t know people have done the self-evaluation of ‘why?’” she said.

“It might be just ‘the company’s not aligned with my personal values’. That’s okay but you at least need to be able to articulate that, because that will stop you making the decision again.

“I think you have to understand the value of the role in the market, you cannot link it to: I think I am worth this because my bills have gone up 20 per cent.”

Ms Lowney warns that job seekers shouldn’t shortchange the “credibility” and “social capital” people build up after years spent at the same organisation.

“Flexibility comes more naturally when there is a relationship between you and your boss, or organisation,” she said.

“You have to rebuild that kind of social capital in a new organisation and there’s no guarantee they will think about it in the same way.”

Source: news.com.au

(Quotes via original reporting)