Salary increase: threatening to resign to negotiate, a bad idea

To obtain a salary increase, you may be tempted to blackmail your boss into resigning. While the strategy may seem effective, it is also very risky.

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It’s an idea that may have crossed your mind. You didn’t receive a Christmas bonus last month, and despite your efforts to remain patient, your employer doesn’t seem inclined to reward your performance with a nice raise in 2025. Your dazzling results, your bold initiatives… nothing done there. The idea of give an ultimatum tickles you: “If I don’t get what I want, then I’m leaving!” Be careful, because this strategy could well backfire on you.

Laurent Tylski, founder of Acteo Consulting – a professional coaching firm for executives and directors – is categorical on this point: “We never retain an employee who is blackmailing.” And even less when it comes to a blackmail resignation ! In his eyes, this attitude is doomed to failure: “A manager who accepts this kind of pressure opens the door to all the demands of the team.» To avoid a snowball effect, there is a good chance that in addition to rejecting your request for a raise, your hierarchy will label you as a disruptive element. “A very difficult label to erase”which could encourage your manager to find a roundabout way to hasten your departure.

The balance of power between employees and employers has been reversed

If so far employers were bending over backwards to retain their talents – even if it means accepting requests for raises that are not always justified – the tide turned last year: according to a study by the WTW firmrecruitment difficulties have fallen by 7 points between 2022 and 2024. Since they will have less difficulty replacing you, employers will logically be less inclined to give in to your blackmail.

And this, even if, Laurent Tylski admits, “an employee who threatens to resign often already has one foot out the door. Deep down, he wants to leave”. In the event that your manager gives in to your pressure attempts, know that it is often just a reprieve. “7 times out of 10, employees who get a raise by forcing their hand end up leaving the company within the year”points out the expert. So, rather than hiding the problem, take this lack of increase as a signal: it is maybe time to look for a position where you will be truly fulfilled…and recognized for your true value.

Take a positive approach

But if you are decided to stay and try to get the raise you deserve, forget the ultimatums and rely on a finer strategy: constructive negotiation. Your best asset? Your achievements. Be as factual as possible: for example, your turnover over the year if you are a salesperson, or the number of projects completed. Of course, the annual review is a key moment to highlight your successes, but it should not be your only opportunity to promote your work. “Waiting only for the annual interview to take stock means taking the risk that your efforts will go unnoticed in the mass of end-of-year evaluations”warns Laurent Tylski. A tip: increase regular discussions with your manager during the year so that your request for an increase does not fall through the cracks.

And if, despite everything, your employer cites a tight budget to refuse your request, there is no question of sitting on your negotiations just yet. We often forget it, but you have the possibility of obtaining extra-financial compensationsuch as additional RTT days, training financed by your employer or even a company vehicle. “These benefits, often less costly for the company, will be more easily granted to you than an increase”assures Mathilde Héliès, founder of the FULLÉMO firm.