A study of Swedish workers found that men are far more likely than women to use outside job offers as leverage to negotiate higher pay in their current role, even when women have equivalent opportunities.
Men who received outside job offers of similar pay, productivity and location saw their current wages rise, while women with comparable offers did not, according to the Rockwool Foundation Berlin Institut (RFBerlin).
Women in the study changed jobs just as often as men when offers arose, leading researchers to attribute the pay gap to renegotiation tactics rather than differences in opportunity.
In jobs with limited bargaining, the pay gap tied to outside offers disappeared entirely.
Closing these gaps requires attention not only to hiring and job choice, but also to how wages are renegotiated once people are already employed."
Read more via HR Dive
More than half of German workers with household incomes above 6,000 euros a month have applied for jobs abroad or explored international opportunities in the past year, according to Indeed.
54% of top earners said they applied for jobs abroad or sounded out the international labor market in the past twelve months.
Two thirds of respondents said they generally think about taking a job abroad, and 77% of those interested want to live outside Germany for several years or permanently.
The most cited reasons were higher income and better quality of life, each cited by about 51% of respondents, followed by more pleasant climate or lower taxes at 42%.
Germany recorded a net loss of about 97,000 more citizens emigrating than returning last year, the highest net loss since 2017.
If two thirds of employees are flirting with the idea of leaving, that should also be understood as a sign of dissatisfaction with the conditions in Germany as a place to live and work."
Read more via Euronews
Advertised salaries on new US job postings show a widening gap between top and bottom earners, with the highest-paying roles pulling further ahead even as pay for lower-paid positions loses ground to inflation, according to Revelio Labs.
Real advertised salaries for ninth and tenth decile jobs rose 7.5% and 6.4% respectively between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026, while bottom decile jobs fell 2.2% after adjusting for inflation.
Professional Services, Information, and Education and Health sectors account for most of the recent wage growth among top-paying postings.
Firms investing most heavily in AI continue to expand headcounts, and AI adoption is more strongly linked to weaker wage growth at the bottom of the pay distribution than at the top.
Read more via Revelio Labs
Office attendance reached a new post-pandemic high last month even as remote work also ticked up, leaving the return-to-office debate unresolved.
Total office visits rose 8.5% year over year last month, according to Placer.AI, though visits remain down 21% from 2019 levels.
More than one third of full-time employees, 35%, worked from home some or all of the time in 2025, up from 33.4% in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
I don't know if we're ever going to quite get back to the point we were pre-pandemic. There's a lot of businesses that have found that a remote or hybrid work model works for them, but I also think a lot of businesses have also found that things can be collaborative when you're in an office."
Read more via HR Brew
Nearly two thirds of workers believe companies are reducing entry-level hiring because of AI, but far fewer say they have experienced that impact directly, according to Indeed Flex.
62% of workers believe companies are lowering entry-level hiring due to AI, while only 31% say AI has actually reduced entry-level opportunities in their own field.
Recent graduates were far more likely to hold this belief, with 80% saying AI is reducing entry-level hiring, 21% more than mid-career professionals.
Pay remains workers' top concern in the job market at 30%, compared with just 9% who cited AI replacing roles they qualify for.
22% of workers now use AI tools like ChatGPT to help with resumes or applications.
AI is reshaping hiring, but it's not replacing the fundamentals of what workers care about. People are still looking for competitive pay, stability and opportunities to build meaningful careers."
Read more via PR Newswire
A quarterly retention index from Eagle Hill Consulting fell to its lowest level in a year, driven by declining satisfaction with pay even as confidence in employers and workplace culture improved.
The Eagle Hill Employee Retention Index fell 1.3 points in the second quarter to 104.2, its lowest level in the past year.
The Compensation Indicator fell 5.6 points, the sharpest decline of any measure this quarter. The Job Market Opportunity Indicator rose 1.9 points.
Millennials saw the steepest drop of any generation, down 6.1 points, and were the only generation to decline on confidence, compensation and culture while growing more confident in outside options.
Employees generally feel good about their organizations and workplace culture, but many are questioning whether their compensation and long-term growth opportunities are keeping pace with the market."
A survey of US workers found widespread uncertainty about long-term job security on both sides of the employment relationship, with employees and employers alike sending mixed signals about commitment.
59% of workers said they do not see a clear, long-term path with their current employer.
63% said they do not believe their employer is committed to keeping them long-term.
32% cited limited growth opportunities and 23% said they feel unfulfilled or frustrated in their current role.
The top reasons workers cited for staying in a role despite this uncertainty were financial stability at 60% and comfort or familiarity at 47%.
Read more via Zety
