Salary nomads: Recruiter warns against salary nomad work trend

A recruiter has warned against the “salary nomad” work trend, after a survey found 4 in 5 workers were likely to quit if they didn’t receive a pay rise in 2023.

An Asian woman in the office thinking while looking out of the window daytime. Picture: iStock

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.”

While short-term and contract roles can attract higher pay, candidates may be in for a harsh return to reality if they return to a permanent role. Picture: iStock.

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 2 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.

Despite the threat of rising interest rates, and the threat of an economic downturn, the job market power is still held by job seekers. Ms Lowney is “confident” it’s a trend that will continue.

“We’re not hearing the sentiment of ‘I don’t want to move right now because I can be the last person in, first person out,’” she said.

“The confidence level among candidates is really high and demand is really high.”

Recruiter Jane Lowney says Picture: Supplied

For people looking to change jobs, for reasons related to salary or otherwise, Ms Lowney says the one question candidates need to ask themselves is: “Why am I moving?”

“That’s why the concept of rage quitting concerns me because I don’t know people have done the self-evaluation of ‘why?’” she says.

“It might be just ‘the company’s not aligned with my personal values’. That’s okay but you at least need to be able to articulate that, because that will stop you making the decision again.

“I think you have to understand the value of the role in the market, you cannot link it to: I think I am worth this because my bills have gone up 20 per cent”.

While she’s in the business of filling open roles, she says job seekers shouldn’t short change the “credibility” and “social capital” people build up after years spent at an organisation.

“Flexibility comes more naturally when there is a relationship between you and your boss, or organisation,’ she said.

“You have to rebuild that kind of social capital in a new organisation and there’s no guarantee they will think about it in the same way.”