The New Job Trend That Has Employees Worried: “Dry Promotion

The ever-evolving landscape of the global job market has seen several trends over the decades, from the rise of work-from-home arrangements to shared working spaces. Now, a new phenomenon called “dry promotion” is quietly gaining prominence. Dry promotion involves giving employees a job promotion with no increase in salary.

This means that while their title changes, their workload and responsibilities increase without any monetary compensation. 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 financial rewards. This trend is seen as a reflection of the diminishing bargaining power of the average worker.

Dry promotions tend to become more prevalent during periods of economic uncertainty as companies focus on cost-cutting measures. The trend of dry promotion has emerged at a time when some employers are redistributing the responsibilities of laid-off workers to existing staff members without increasing their compensation. Evidence of this trend can also be seen on social media, where several employees have shared their experiences with such offers.

Some employees are expressing dissatisfaction with the trend, and there are suggestions for how to navigate it. For example, comments on social media advise leveraging the new title to make a lateral move at another company in order to achieve a higher salary. Other suggestions include requesting flexible working schedules, extra paid time off, or additional benefits to compensate for the absence of a raise.