Crunch decisions | Are 'peanut butter' wage policies a threat to engagement and retention?

Business leaders planning 2026 wage scales are deliberating a new but familiar dilemma - to spread pay increases evenly or reward employees entirely on performance.

The debate over these ‘peanut-butter’ pay rises, so-called because they are spread evenly among the workforce (so essentially any popular spread would do. In fact, is peanut butter even the best spreader?) centers around financial planning considerations, but also impacts on engagement, motivation, culture and even talent attraction. So it has to be the right fit for an organization.