Workers Are Seeking Greener Pastures, and Higher Pay Is the Driver

Most workers plan to seek a new job and employer in 2025, with higher pay driving their desires and expectations. While a comprehensive total rewards package, and individual components such as schedule and workplace flexibility, remains important to workers, cash is driving decisions. In response to the heightened attention on pay, employers and their total rewards professionals are refining that aspect of their talent acquisition and retention strategies.

“This is particularly challenging for employers in a competitive labor market, especially when candidate and employee needs and preferences differ and continue to evolve,” said Sue Holloway, a compensation content director at WorldatWork.

A Restless Talent Pool

Despite a labor market slowdown in late 2024 and early 2025, a January survey of 570 technical and professional workers in North America by Bartech Staffing found 57% of respondents plan to look for a new role in the first half of 2025 — and 71% expect to do so at some point during the year. More than three-quarters (76%) of respondents are looking for higher pay.

Another January survey, this one by Monster, found 93% of surveyed workers are looking or plan to look for a new job in 2025. Nearly half (48%) expect a higher salary due to inflation, while 16% expect labor shortages to drive higher offers. Both measures of candidate salary expectations, however, are down from Monster’s 2024 survey.

Professional staffing firm Robert Half provided a somewhat different vantage point. Its poll of 2,000 U.S. workers conducted in late January found only 29% of respondents plan to seek a new job in the first six months of 2025, down from 35% in July 2024.

Even with that result, Lindo Gharib, a district president at Robert Half, said economic uncertainty is driving the interest in higher pay. “A year ago, flexibility was employees’ top priority, but because of what is happening from an economic and inflation perspective, compensation and competitive pay is the top priority right now,” he stated.

Getting What They Ask For

Data from WorldatWork’s 2024-25 Salary Budget Survey suggested employers’ initial compensation plans for 2025 were to stay the course with continued modest growth. According to the May 2024 survey data, U.S. employers’ salary budget increases across all categories averaged 3.9% last year and were projected to be 3.8%, on average, in 2025. WorldatWork’s most recent Bonus Programs & Practices survey, published in September 2024, also showed employer stability in using sign-on bonuses following an earlier post-pandemic surge.

These trends may be shifting more in the favor of workers. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s most recent Labor Market Survey, conducted in November 2024, showed the average reservation wage — the lowest wage respondents would be willing to accept for a new job — increased to $82,135 from $81,147 in July. And, ZipRecruiter research published in February 2025 found 73% of surveyed workers who left their employers in the fourth quarter of 2024 earned more upon switching jobs, up from 57% just a quarter earlier, and 31% reported receiving a counteroffer from their previous employer, compared to 17% in the prior quarter. Around 43% received a sign-on bonus, nearly 3.5 times more than the 12% who reported the same in the previous quarter.

Gharib stated these trends are impacting employers’ bottom line. “They are prioritizing salaries at a higher level right now, especially for entry-level roles to attract the right people,” he said.

The Response

According to compensation experts, employers seeking to attract and retain talent may follow the following strategies.

Refine the total rewards strategy. Salaries, sign-on bonuses and salary increase budgets fluctuate, but employers must calibrate them with rewards and benefits. “To attract candidates or retain employees, employers must offer competitive compensation along with a compelling employee value proposition or total rewards package,” WorldatWork’s Holloway said.
Lean into generational differences. Workers aged 55 and older were more likely to say they want a new role, while those under age 25 were more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, according to the Bartech report. This is a trend echoed by a January 2024 AARP survey. Employers can respond by personalizing rewards with flexible programs “tailored to employees’ preferences that often vary based on where they are in their career and life circumstances,” Holloway said. For example, she said mid-career professionals may value awards and bonuses over professional learning opportunities, while senior ones may want additional options around retirement benefits.
Focus on hiring dynamics. “Creating a better talent experience should be a priority for all human capital leaders,” the Bartech survey stated. “This effort needs to include prehire and post-employment touchpoints.” Those could include more proactive social media communications, increasing details in job descriptions, and more streamlined and responsive hiring processes, as well as greater investment in professional development and intentional conversations about career goals. But speed may be the most important factor. “If you have a strong candidate who has the right skills, you have to move more quickly,” Gharib said.
Money is important, but it isn’t everything. Bartech survey respondents cited flexible work and career opportunities as significant priorities. (Forty-five percent of women and 25% of men earmarked flexible work arrangements as critical; 50% of all respondents ranked opportunities for professional development as a key factor in job satisfaction.) “Whether it’s remote work, hybrid models or flexible hours, candidates are seeking roles that allow them to balance personal and professional responsibilities,” Bartech senior vice president Erica Leone wrote in a blog post. “While competitive pay remains a top factor, many candidates emphasized the importance of benefits, work-life balance and meaningful work as equally influential in their decision-making process.”

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics: