‘Dry Promotion’: All About New Job Trend That Is Worrying People

The ever-evolving landscape of the global job market has seen several trends over the decades. From work from home to shared working space, the list is endless. Now, we have a new phenomenon that is quietly gaining prominence – “dry promotion”.

Dry promotion refers to the practice of bestowing employees with a job promotion with no increase in salary. In other words, while your title changes, your workload grows, and your responsibilities increase, you do not receive any monetary compensation for these changes that the promotion brings with it.

A recent report by compensation consultant Pearl Meyer revealed that more than 13% of employers chose to give their employees new job titles instead of money. This number was only 8% in 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Additionally, a survey of 900 companies by benefits-advisory firm Mercer found that more employers are assigning less of their 2024 salary budgets for promotion-related hikes when compared to 2023. 

While most employees may not be thrilled by this trend, the growing practice is also considered by experts a reflection of the average worker’s diminishing bargaining power. These promotions tend to become more prevalent during periods of economic uncertainty with companies focussing on cost-cutting measures.  

Earlier, companies faced with labour shortages were often compelled to offer substantial raises to retain employees. However, the trend of dry promotion has come at a time when some employers are redistributing the responsibilities of laid-off workers to existing staff members without increasing their compensation.

Evidence of the trend is also visible on social media, with several employees sharing their experience with such offers. For example, in a Reddit thread shared last year, a user revealed that their manager told them that since they work more than a junior usually does, the management had “decided to get rid of the junior in my title”. The user shared: “However when I asked how that impacts my salary, they said not at all, it stays exactly the same for this year.”

Promotion but no salary increase?
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Offering advice, one user said: “The only thing a better title will do with no additional money is help you find a better job somewhere else.”

Another user said: “The company is low on resources, and rather than actually hiring for open positions, they just spread the outstanding responsibilities among existing employees and/or move employees around the organisation to meet their needs without increasing headcount or expense. Leverage this new title bump to make a lateral move at another company. Run away as fast as you can.”

“The title is not the recognition. The salary increase is the recognition. The only way to make big jumps in salary and at market value is to go somewhere that’ll pay you more. If you stay where you are, they’ll only incrementally give you pay raises…then after 5 or 6 years, you are below market rate,” explained another user.

If you are not in a position to look for a new job, some also suggested that employees might request flexible working schedules, extra paid time off, or additional benefits to compensate for the absence of a raise.