Tired of the anxiety that comes with asking for a raise? One tech company is eliminating that conversation entirely.
Lovable, a Stockholm-based AI software startup with 200 employees globally, announced a new policy guaranteeing every team member a 10% salary increase on their work anniversary. The initiative, which applies to anniversaries falling between July 2026 and July 2027, is built on a simple premise: institutional knowledge compounds, and compensation should reflect that growth.
"People get more valuable the longer they stay, and they shouldn't have to worry about getting a raise or not," wrote co-founder Anton Osika in a LinkedIn post announcing the policy.
Why Now?
According to Chief People Officer Maryanne Caughey, the policy is designed to reward the compounding impact employees make over time. "The longer someone's here, the more context they carry, and the more impact they can have," she explained.
After a 12-month trial period, Lovable plans to evaluate the policy's effectiveness by measuring:
- Changes in employee retention rates
- Time saved for managers and direct reports during performance review cycles
- Overall business efficiency and customer service outcomes
"My hope is that by doing this, we can also give some time back to the business," Caughey said.
Compensation Philosophy Beyond the Anniversary Bump
The 10% anniversary increase represents a floor—not a ceiling—for compensation adjustments. Lovable's broader strategy includes:
- **Quarterly performance reviews** to ensure employees remain on track
- **Biannual salary checkpoints** for promotions or expanded responsibilities
- **Ongoing equity audits** to guarantee equal pay for equal work within the same region
- **Market-aligned benchmarking** using Pave compensation data, targeting the 90th percentile for role and location
Caughey emphasized that the policy is proactive, not reactive: "This isn't about fixing a turnover problem. It's about building a culture where people feel valued from day one."
Growth and Global Footprint
With offices in Stockholm, Boston, San Francisco, London, and New York City, Lovable plans to double its workforce to approximately 400 employees by the end of 2026. The company is actively hiring across engineering, product, sales, and other departments.
The Bigger Picture: Loyalty vs. Mobility
Lovable's approach stands in stark contrast to broader U.S. labor trends. According to ADP payroll data from April 2026:
- Employees who stayed in their roles saw average wage growth of **4.4%** year-over-year
- Those who changed jobs saw average gains of **6.6%**
In Sweden—where wage growth is projected at roughly 3.5% in 2026, and strong work-life balance norms prevail—Caughey acknowledges that a guaranteed 10% anniversary raise is "highly atypical." Yet she argues that investing in retention through predictable, meaningful compensation aligns with the company's long-term vision.
What This Means for the Future of Work
While it remains to be seen whether other companies will adopt similar policies, Lovable's experiment highlights a growing conversation about how organizations can proactively reward loyalty, reduce compensation-related stress, and free up managerial bandwidth for more strategic work.
For employees everywhere, the message is clear: In a labor market that often incentivizes job-hopping, some employers are betting that consistency, context, and commitment deserve to be compensated—not just acknowledged.