Raising the Question? 82% of Professionals Say They Deserve a Raise Next Year

A new research study from Ladders reveals that 82% of high-earning professionals surveyed believe they deserve a raise next year, but only 25% asked for one in the past year — which raises interesting questions about raises, promotions, and how professionals go about getting them.

With the Great Recession a decade in the rearview mirror, America’s top professionals are feeling more confident in their abilities, and their worthiness for additional compensation. But they still aren’t asking for it.

82% of respondents agreed that they deserved a raise next year, while only 25% had asked for a raise in the past 12 months. Nonetheless, approximately two-thirds of survey participants indicated that they had received a raise in the past year.

Almost half of respondents settled for a meager raise of 3% or less in the past year, while only 8% reported a 15% or greater increase from their employer.

Promotions are coming much faster in the modern era, with almost a quarter of respondents indicating they had been promoted with less than 12 months on the job. An additional 23% indicated it took them leaving their employer to get promoted.

Ladders professionals responded to the following:

“I deserve a raise next year”:

Strongly agree45%
Agree37%
Neutral18%
Disagree 0%
Strongly disagree 0%

“I asked for a raise in the past year”:

Yes 25%
No 75%

“I received a raise in the past year”:

Yes 65%
No 35%

“My most recent raise was”:

0%-3%49%
4%-6%20%
7%-9%7%
10%-15%12%
Greater than 15%8%
Other4%

“I deserve a promotion next year”:

Strongly agree25%
Agree25%
Neutral43%
Disagree4%
Strongly disagree3%

“For my most recent promotion, I was promoted after __ months on the job”:

Less than 12 months24%
13-24 months22%
25-36 months11%
37-48 months5%
4 years or longer15%
I changed companies to get my promotion23%

Methodology
Ladders, Inc. research study conducted October 20th to October 27th, 2019 among the members of the Ladders professional community. 1,233 responses were recorded. Gender distribution was 75% male, 25% female. Average annual compensation of respondents was $148,000.