[quote=sdrealtor]I always thought the concept of raises was rather silly. Employer’s know that most people dread looking for jobs. They know most of their employees are too lazy or too afraid of rejection to chase a better life. The only real way to get a decent raise is to get promoted or find a new job.

Bottomline- If you want more, you need to go out and find it. If you wait for it to come to you, well… we all know how that goes.[/quote]

Those are some sweeping generalizations! I for one 1) don’t dread looking for jobs (in fact I get approached with new opportunites almost every week), 2) and not too lazy to chase a better salary (not sure if that equals a better life–there are trade offs in the professional services industry). People in my field routinely move on every 1-2 years as that is the best way to increase your salary. Raises won’t do it at 3-5%.