Mike Andes breaks down why raises don't happen: your industry can't afford them, you haven't learned anything new in five years, or you never asked. Threatening to leave only works if you've actually added skills and value, and even then it's risky when jobs are scarce.
So it's been five years and you haven't got a raise. So either a you're in the wrong industry and they can't afford to give you any more money and you might need to go leave to a different industry or two. Maybe you haven't updated your skills in five years and ultimately you can call them on their on their bluff. If you've done the hard work and gotten new skills and added more value to you as an employee and they haven't paid you for it, you can threaten to leave and see what happens. Just realize right now might not be a great time to do that because they might just tell you to go pound sand and all of a sudden you're unemployed in a tough market.
