Top 5 reasons why Nigerian finance professionals stay in jobs that don’t pay well

The 2024 ‘Inside the Paycheck’ recently released by Duplo highlighted the glaring discontent, finance professionals feel in their jobs this year.

The report notes that satisfaction with compensation within the industry remains low, as roughly 29% of respondents revealed that they were moderately dissatisfied while 27% were very dissatisfied.

3% of respondents were very satisfied, 23.7% of respondents were moderately satisfied, while a whopping 56.2% expressed their discontent.

Considering the low economic opportunity available to individuals in Nigeria’s financial industry, most Nigerian financial professionals make less than ₦₦500,000 per month.

Severe revenue disparity exists within the finance industry, as illustrated by the statistic that only 7.2% of respondents report earning above ₦1 million per month.

The discontent highlighted in the report stems from the fact that despite having years of expertise, mid-level professionals continue to be hit by inflationary pressures which has reduced the value of their actual salaries.

“In 2024, compensation satisfaction 31.5% of respondents in the 5–10 years experience range express dissatisfaction with compensation. For those with over 15 years experience only 2.8% express satisfaction. Mid-level professionals remain the most dissatisfied demographic due to stagnant salaries despite inflation,” the report states.

“In 2023, however, most respondents had 3–10 years of experience, with only 13% having over 15 years. Satisfaction decreased with experience, as 35% of respondents with 3–5 years of experience reported satisfaction compared to just 2.9% of those with over 15 years,” it adds.

Despite these facts, many Nigerians in the finance industry have decided to continue with their jobs, below are 5 major reasons why.

“Base salary remains a dominant factor, but data show that finance professionals are placing equal importance on work-life balance, especially in light of the mental and emotional strain of economic instability,” the report states.