How much of a salary increase would it take for you to leave your job?
That “number” may reveal something about your current engagement.
We’ve all been there: mentally ticking off reasons - “what it would take” - for switching jobs. One way to probe your level of commitment to your current role is to ask: how large must a salary increase be for you to walk away? The answer can tell you a lot about how engaged (or disengaged) you really are.
The hard data on pay and job-switching
According to research from Gallup, higher pay is indeed a factor when employees consider a new job. But, importantly, it’s far from the whole story.
- Gallup found that engaged employees would require on average a 31% pay increase to seriously consider leaving their organization.
- Conversely, not engaged or actively disengaged employees would require about a 22% pay bump to change jobs.
What this suggests is: if you’re fairly engaged in your work, you’d have to be offered something substantially better (≈30 % more pay) to make you pull the trigger. If you’re less engaged, the threshold is lower (≈20–25 %).
That doesn’t mean pay doesn’t matter - of course it does - but what it signals is that pay is a compensator rather than the root driver in many cases. The research bluntly says: “Increasing base pay has a negligible effect on performance” and that the best predictors of attraction and retention are things other than pay: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, work environment, cohesion, stress levels.
So ask yourself: If you were offered 10%, 20%, or 30% more, would you immediately pack your bags? Or would you stay? Your answer can reveal how much your current job meets your deeper needs.
What your “number” might mean about your engagement
If you think you’d leave at a small bump (say 10 % or less), that might suggest you’re not deeply engaged - your work, your environment or your satisfaction are lacking.
If you’d only leave at a very large bump (say 30 %+), it likely indicates you feel fairly good about your current situation - you’re connected, valued, comfortable, and the job meets many of your non-monetary needs.
If you’re somewhere in the middle, it might indicate moderate engagement: you’re OK, but there’s room for improvement.
Going beyond pay: what really drives people to leave (and to join)
But pay is only part of the picture. The second Gallup piece, which focuses on retention & attraction, digs deeper. According to Gallup’s “Employee Retention & Attraction” indicator:
- 52% of U.S. employees are either watching for or actively seeking new job opportunities.
- While “Pay/Benefits” tops the list as the single most cited primary reason for leaving (16%), when you aggregate broader categories you get:
- Engagement & culture = 37% of leaving reasons
- Well-being & work-life balance = 31% of leaving reasons
Together these two categories account for 68% of the reasons employees leave.
This indicates that while pay is important, what increasingly drives turnover (or attraction) are things like:
- feeling connected to the mission, the team, the culture
- having meaningful work and doing what you do best
- having a manager you trust, autonomy, a good environment
- having a job that supports your well-being and life outside of work
On the attraction side, the list of factors that draw people to new jobs isn’t just “higher pay” either; it includes things like remote/flex work, autonomy, ability to do what they do best, reputation of the employer, stability, and opportunity to grow.
What this means for employees (and for you)
So: what should you do with all of this? Here are a few take-aways.
- Use your “what would it take” number as a reality check.
If you find yourself thinking you’d leave for a 5% raise, ask: Why so low? What’s missing in my job that’s making pay alone tempting?
If you’d stay unless someone offered 40% more, that’s a signal you’re relatively engaged – but ask: Could smaller improvements (better manager, clearer mission, more autonomy) keep you even more committed? - Focus on the non-pay sides of your job.
If you’re currently mis-aligned with your culture, burnt out, working under a bad manager, or not doing your strengths: those are bigger drivers of leaving than pay alone. Improving those may raise your engagement more than a salary bump would. - If you’re job-hunting (or considering a move), ask the right questions.
Don’t only ask “What’s the salary?” - ask:
What is the work environment like?
How is the manager-team dynamic?
Will I be doing work that plays to my strengths and interests?
How is flexibility and work-life balance treated?
What is the culture and mission of the company?
These align with what the research shows people truly look for when selecting a new job. - For managers/leaders: increasing salaries may help, but if underlying engagement, culture and wellbeing issues are unresolved, you’ll still face attrition. The “easy button” of increasing pay doesn’t solve root problems.
Closing thoughts
So, back to the opening question: How much of a salary increase would it take you to leave your job?
Consider giving that question a real numerical answer — then ask yourself:
- Why that number?
- What conditions would make it lower or higher?
- What non-monetary factors in my job are pushing that number up or down?
In doing so, you’ll gain insight into how engaged you truly are and you’ll learn what really matters if you’re staying, hoping to stay, or planning to go.
References
Gallup. Employees Want Higher Pay, but Money Alone Won’t Fix Engagement Problems. May 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/405257/employees-higher-pay-money-won-fix-problems.aspx
Gallup. The Indicator: Employee Retention & Attraction. 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.gallup.com/467702/indicator-employee-retention-attraction.aspx
