Dive Brief:

• CNBC reports that 71% of workers don't ask for more money in their current or most recent jobs. New research by recruiting software company Jobvite found that only 29% of job candidates negotiate salary increases.
• The research also showed that 84% of workers who negotiate a higher wage are successful, says CNBC. What's more, one-fifth of those negotiations yielded increases of 11% to 20%. 
• Much of the anxiety seems to rely on an employee's belief that an employer would immediately rebuff them when asked about pay. The study also found that men (56%) were more comfortable negotiating salary than women (38%).

Dive Insight:

One of the least surprising results in the study was the difference between women and men in negotiating pay raises. A Paysa.com study found that 41% of women never ask their current employers for a pay increase. And when employers say they’ll turn down requests for more pay increases, more women (34%) than men (32%) are discouraged from asking. Women generally earn less than men for performing comparable work. If employers base their pay on past wages, women, as well as nonwhite workers, will remain under-compensated. 

While employees are reluctant to ask for or negotiate raises, more employers face legal restrictions on asking about job candidates' salary histories in interviews unless brought up by the employee first — problematic if employees aren't willing to talk about it at all. Pay equity laws in some states and cities prohibit employers from basing workers' pay on past earnings. That means employers may have to re-strategize how they set up salary talks during the interview stage if employees keep quiet.