The anxiety of perceiving you're overpaid at work
- sciart0
- May 14, 2025
- 1 min read
Excerpt: "All of us like to think we are worth every penny of our paychecks—and then some. Many Americans who scored big raises a few years ago are coming to the harsh realization that they are overpaid in today’s cooler job market.
It’s not that they are failing to live up to the deals they signed. It’s that wages have fallen in tech and other industries while the expansion of pay transparency laws makes it hard to ignore this truth.
Go ahead and snicker at these lucky stiffs, but consider that you might be one of them. Two-thirds of U.S. workers say they are compensated at or above the current value of their skills, according to a new workforce report by consulting firm Korn Ferry.
“We’ve certainly seen a shift in the last year with our clients,” says Ron Seifert, a senior client partner at Korn Ferry. “They’re not as aggressive in recruiting. They monitor offers a lot more carefully.”
I spoke recently with more than two dozen people who job hopped during the pandemic-era talent war. For a lot of them, a sense of dread taints the satisfaction of having gotten raises while the gettin’ was good. They fear they wouldn’t be able to match their pay packages if they were looking for work today."