Warning to ‘salary nomads’

A RECRUITMENT expert has cautioned against an emerging “salary nomad” work trend, as employees continue to quit their jobs in search for higher pay to curb cost-of-living pressures.

Robert Walter Director Jane Lowney describes the cohort as workers who are prepared to “make decisions or follow non-traditional career pathways in order to achieve a better salary”.

That can look like workers who serially resign from jobs in search for higher pay, or people who seek contract roles for the promise of higher rates.

Although short-term roles can attract inflated salaries based on demand, candidates may be hit with a “brutal correction” if they return to permanent jobs, says 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 says.

“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.”

A 2023 salary survey published by global recruitment firm Robert Walters found 80 per cent of more than 1000 respondents said they would seek a new role if they didn’t receive a pay increase above inflation in 2023, with 60 per cent of respondents calling for a bump that was at least two per cent above the rate.

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

This includes 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.