Allison Venditti knows how hard the "should I stay or should I go" question can be.
The Toronto-based career coach and founder of Moms at Work, an online networking community of working women, has seen many clients wracked with indecision about whether to leave their current, stable job for a new opportunity that pays more.
For most, fear of the unknown is arestraining factor, but Venditti says those who take the leap in pursuit of a bigger paycheque usually don't regret it.
"When people have gone out there, most of the time the No. 1 feedback I hear is, 'I wish I'd done this earlier,'" Venditti said, adding a significant pay bump can be life-changing.
"Getting paid $30,000 more a year — that's a lot of money over five years. That can mean a down payment for a house, that can mean the fancy camps for your kids. It makes a difference."
It can be hard to know when it's time to leave a job you enjoy or a company you feel loyal to for a higher salary elsewhere. Job satisfaction, your relationship with your boss, and workplace culture all have value, and in some cases, outweigh a potential pay hike.
But experts say given today's cost of living, it may be time to consider looking elsewhere if you feel your earnings potential has flatlined.
A recent survey of 4,000 Canadian white-collar professionals and 2,000 employers by global recruitment consultancy Robert Walters found that in 2024, the average employer plans to offer pay raises of between 3.5 and four per cent.
Given persistently high inflation over the past couple of years, that means the raises many working Canadians can expect to receive this year will do little more than keep them from going backwards financially.
"If you look historically, pay raises have been used as a metric to reward hard work, loyalty, progression," said Robert Walters Canadamanaging director Martin Fox.
"But what we're seeing right now is a really unique and tough situation. A lot of companies at this current time are offering this inflationary hike just to keep people whole — and they probably don't have the budget or have not planned to pay more than that."
On the other hand, companies often will dig deeper into their budgets to lure an attractive new hire, Fox said.
“Our internal data and research show that professionals who switch organizations often experience a substantial salaryincrease,"he said.
"It's in the range of 10 to 15 per cent, even up to 20 per cent for some roles in really high demand."
"We know that job-hoppers make more money. It's been proven," Venditti said, adding workers can benefit financially from switching jobs, but also from switching industries entirely.
“That idea of too much job-hopping being bad somehow is really not a thing anymore. The thing we see about high-potential earners is that the time they spend at a job is about two-and-a-half years."
While a 15 per cent pay increase is about how much an employer should expect to offer if they're trying to entice an experienced professional to leave their current position, Venditti said it's important to remember that salary is only part of the equation.
"If you’re going to get paid $50,000 to work 42 hours a week, or you’re going to get paid $50,000 to work 35 hours a week, that’s a significant difference," she said, adding employees should also crunch the numbers and compare things such as stock options, pensions and RRSP top-ups.
Fox said the lesser-paying job may also come out on top when considering factors like training and professional development, benefits and wellness programs, and the ability to work remotely or on a hybrid basis.
The Robert Walters survey found 93 per cent of employees surveyed are open to leaving their current organization for a salary increase of 10 per cent or more.
It also found the primary factor behind employees staying in their current role is competitive compensation — only nine per cent of employees surveyed cited appreciation for their company as a key reason for staying.
But Venditti said women, in particular, often hold back from applying for higher-paid positions due to a false belief that higher-paying jobs automatically mean a loss of flexibility and work-life balance.
"That's the No. 1 hang-up I see," she said.
"Don’t make that assumption — that ‘Oh, I can’t leave because they’re really nice to me.’ A lot of places are nice to work."
If you genuinely enjoy your job, but feel you are underpaid, you can consider asking for a raise or promotion before looking for outside opportunities, Vendetti said.
Even if your employer can't offer money, they may be willing to come to the table with an offer of more vacation time, flex time, a condensed work week or some other non-monetary form of compensation.
Still, Venditti said employees determined to improve their financial position need to "read the room" and decide if that's possible at their current company.
"If your employer has put out a memo saying everyone's had a cost-of-living increase already and now they’re laying off people, don’t go in and ask for a raise — the answer is going to be no," she said.
"Sometimes there just is no opportunity. Sometimes you really do have to leave your company if you want to move up."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2024.
Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press
