This. The amount of trouble one has to go through to break the % cap on internal raises isnt worth it. Especially when you have recruiters lining out the door for your applications to companies who won't quibble about salary expectations.

Switching jobs has now become the path of least resistance to get what you want.

Maybe it's because of all the recent success stories? People are emboldened to take the leap.

Maybe it's because if you're remote working, you're somewhat distanced from the people you're moving away from anyway, it's less uncomfortable than hanging around the office for 3 weeks before you split.