You are not loyal. You are scared, and staying put is quietly costing you money.
Quits have sat near 2 percent since the start of last year (1.9 percent in May, about 3.1 million people), the lowest outside the pandemic since early 2016. Korn Ferry calls it job hugging. For fifteen years, switching was the single fastest way to a bigger raise; the switcher premium is back but thin, well short of the multi-point gaps of the job-hopping years.
The Monday move: write down what a switcher in your role and city is paid, using a real posted range if your state gives you one, and bring that number into your next one-on-one as the opening line for an internal raise, not a threat to leave. Staying can be the right call. Staying silent about what the market says you are worth is the expensive one.
