Afraid to Ask for a Raise? Join the Club.

When the job market was better, employees were bolder. But these days, many apparently feel that the one surefire way to rock the boat is to ask for a raise.

According to a report by career advisor Zety, 66% of employees say they won’t be asking for raises this year. Of those surveyed, about four in ten said they hadn’t received a “meaningful” raise in more than two years; half of them acknowledged they were just glad to have a job in this economy. “People are fearful for their jobs and don’t want to rock the boat,” says Cheryl D’Cruz-Young, senior client partner in the Sustainability and Global Energy practices at Korn Ferry.

The data is only the latest indication that many workers these days (including 36% in the survey) feel stuck. It also aligns with the recent trend of workers “job hugging,” or not leaving roles when they would prefer to. From a leadership perspective, experts say such issues can be damaging to productivity overall; they also note that without big raises, top performers crucial in this age of AI could bolt. But for the vast majority of workers, the daily headlines—the layoffs, the long waits to find jobs—have caused fear to edge out ambition. “In a very tough job market where staff hours are getting cut, I don’t know that I’d want to raise my hand,” says compensation expert Tom McMullen, senior client partner at Korn Ferry.

To be sure, most large companies have an annual pay-review process. This typically involves designating a standard annual pay increase (next year it will be a median of 3.5%, according to Korn Ferry figures) and a boss sitting down with individual employees to discuss their performance and whether they’ve earned a raise. This year, about half of large organizations will provide pay raises to at least 95% of employees, according to Korn Ferry data. But approximately 45% of the workforce is employed by small businesses, which often do not have automatic pay reviews—meaning that employees who want more dough will need to pipe up and ask the boss.

An employee’s decision to ask—or not—should hinge on both corporate and individual performance, experts say. In the survey, 45% of employees said they deserved raises between 4% and 6%, while fully one-third thought 7% to 10% was ‘”fair.” Experts suggest that individual high performers seek raises in most cases, especially if they’re adept with AI. “People who know their value will continue to ask,” says D’Cruz-Young. At the same time, the company’s fortunes matter too. At the many firms that have been rocked by tariffs and changing consumer-spending patterns, managers are in no mood to boost salaries.

For firms that can’t afford raises this year, experts advise exploring other types of rewards. While employees especially appreciate comprehensive health benefits—perennially a top employee priority in benefit surveys—other perks are nearly free for the company, such as development rewards like key assignments and access to projects or people, says Ron Seifert, North America workforce reward and benefits leader at Korn Ferry: “Even in this economic environment, it’s not just about pay.”

Learn more about Korn Ferry’s Total Rewards capabilities. 

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