Over the decades, several trends have emerged in the changing landscape of the global job market. From working from home to shared workspaces, the list is endless. Now, a new phenomenon is quietly emerging – “dry promotion”.
Dry promotion is the practice of giving employees job promotions without increasing their salary. In other words, although your title changes, your workload increases, and your responsibilities increase, you will not receive any monetary compensation for these changes that come with the promotion.
A recent report from compensation consultant Pearl Meyer showed that more than 13% of employers are choosing to give employees new positions over money. According to the Wall Street Journal, this number was only 8% in 2018.
Additionally, a survey of 900 companies by benefits consulting firm Mercer found that more employers are devoting a smaller portion of their 2024 salary budgets to promotion-related raises compared with 2023.
While most employees may not be excited about this trend, experts also believe that the increase in this practice reflects the declining bargaining power of rank-and-file employees. In times of economic uncertainty, these promotions tend to become more common as companies focus on cost-cutting measures.
Previously, companies facing labor shortages were often forced to raise wages significantly to retain employees. However, the practice of promotions occurs when some employers redistribute the responsibilities of laid-off workers to existing employees without increasing their compensation.
Evidence of this trend is also everywhere on social media, with some employees sharing their experiences with such offers. For example, in a Reddit post shared last year, one user revealed that their manager told them that management “decided to get rid of the junior employee in my title” due to their workload being more hours than a junior employee would typically work. “However, when I asked how this would affect my salary, they said it would not affect my salary at all and my salary would remain the same this year,” the user shared.
Promotion but no raise?
byu/Kufff Career Guidance
One user offered advice: “The only thing a better title can do is help you get a better job elsewhere at no additional cost.”
Another user said: “The company is so resource-poor that instead of actually hiring for open positions, they are spreading prominent responsibilities among existing employees and/or moving employees around the organization to meet their needs without adding staff Headcount or expense. Use this new title to make a lateral move to another company and get away as quickly as possible.”
“Titles don’t mean recognition. A raise means recognition. The only way your salary and market value will go up significantly is to go to a place that pays you more. If you stay where you are, they’ll just give you raises incrementally… ….Then after five or six years, your salary is below market,” another user explained.
If you’re unable to find a new job, some also suggest employees can ask for flexible hours, additional paid time off, or additional benefits to make up for the lack of a raise.
