"Switch jobs to increase income" seems to have been folk wisdom for as long as I can remember, yet nothing changes. Recruitment costs are enormous, so I can only surmise that the cost savings to business by underpaying staff are even more enormous.
> so I can only surmise that the cost savings to business by underpaying staff are even more enormous.
I think this is what is going on. "Switch jobs to increase income" _is_ the folk wisdom, but not enough people actually "walk the walk" for it to be worth it for companies to change their strategy. As I mentioned in replying to another comment, this way companies get to retain for very cheap talent that:
* finds job interviews exhausting
* hates negotiating
* has good relationships with colleagues they don't want to lose
* has a comfortable commute or WFH arrangement they don't want to change
* is proud of becoming an expert / go-to-person in some part of the business and doesn't want to lose that source of social capital
* is proud of product or service they have made a big contribution to and wants to "see it through to the end"
* is generally impresionable and does what management want without too much complaint
If there are systemic mistakes being made they appear almost universal. I am not opposed to the notion of this particular issue being part of the human condition, but it does seem suspiciously ubiquitous, which leads me to believe instead that it is profitable. This seems more likely.
