Your points about lifestyle are very well made.
Not sure I made any points about lifestyle?
- Lifestyle - stuffed
- Moral - stuffed
- Benefits - stuffed
- Loyalty - stuffed
- Respect - stuffed
Wynsock is quite right here, and I think these more point to the root of the problem, rather than dollar amounts. In fact, morale stands out here as a driving factor, with the others simply causal factors. Indeed, respect (company respect for the employees), is probably the biggest thing that could be changed. Unfortunately, once morale drops, it's a lot harder to get it back than it would have been to maintain it in the first place.
Example: What if 12 months ago the company had said "we can see pilots are starting to leave, but we value them as a resource. Consequently, we are going to
offer a 10% pay increase across the board at the next EBA negotiation, regardless of other issues under consideration". If the company had announced that, many people would have gone home with a feeling that the company recognised their value.
Fast forward - now you have many pilots and the AFAP talking about numbers between 20% and 60% as an adequate pay increase. Meanwhile, even if the company were to acquiesce, we'd all still be walking around talking about the a**holes upstairs and how the company is cr@p to work for these days. People would still go to other jobs as quickly as the market allows.
We are either past or very close to the point when it doesn't matter what management do.