New findings from the Glassdoor UK Employment Confidence Survey1 reveal that employees are more confident than ever of a pay rise, yet women still lag behind men when it comes to expectations of earning more money. Forty one percent of employees polled expect a pay rise in the next 12 months and 40 percent expect the outlook for their company to improve in the next six months, both of which are a new high point since the survey began in 2014. However, the gender difference tells a slightly different story. Only 35 percent of female employees, compared to nearly half (46 percent) of men are confident of a pay rise. Thirty seven percent of female employees expect their company outlook to improve whereas for men this figure is higher at 42 percent.
“It’s interesting that on the face of it employee confidence of a pay rise is so much higher than two years ago, however the increase has actually been far more significant amongst female employees. Whilst it is encouraging that women are feeling more positive about both their prospects and the outlook for their companies, we must not forget that female employees are still lagging behind their male counterparts with regards to expectations of a pay rise,” comments Jon Ingham, Glassdoor jobs and workplace expert. “With the gender pay gap high on the agenda for so many people, confidence amongst women is a key factor, which might mean they won’t push for a better compensation package. This is a wake-up call for employees and employers to act for a fairer workplace. Greater transparency around pay and sharing salaries internally will help all employees benchmark their pay and understand their market value.”
The Glassdoor UK Employment Confidence Survey tracks four core indicators of employment confidence including: salary expectations, job market optimism, business outlook and job security.
Additional highlights from the Glassdoor UK Employment Confidence Survey include:
- Salary expectations: Confidence is at the highest point since our study began in Q1 2014: 41 percent of employees believe they will receive a pay increase within the next 12 months, a 4 percentage point increase on previous quarter. However, there is a significant gender difference: 46 percent of men are confident of more money compared to just 35 percent of women. However, this gap has narrowed to 11 percentage points from 18 percentage points since Q1 2014.
- Business outlook: Two fifths (40 percent) of employees believe that business outlook will improve over the next six months – a high since the UK study began in Q1 2014, at which point the figure was 34 percent. Men are more bullish though, with 42 percent of men having a positive outlook compared to 37 percent of women. Approximately one in ten (13 percent) employees believe things will get worse at their company in the next six months.
- Job Security: Just over a quarter of employees (26 percent) are concerned they will be made redundant over the next six months, a figure which is up from 21 percent in Q1 2014 when the UK survey started. Looking at the gender difference, 22 percent of women are concerned about redundancy compared to 28 percent of men.
When asked if they were concerned about colleagues being made redundant, 38 percent agreed – down six percentage points compared to Q3 2015 when this figure reached a two-year high (44 per cent). More men (40 percent) worry about their employer making colleagues redundant than women (34 percent).
- Changes in the workplace: In the last six months, 44 percent of all businesses in the UK that had made negative changes in the workplace have made employees redundant/and or communicated plans to implement further redundancies. This is down from 53 percent compared to the same period in 2014.
- Job market optimism/ Re-hire probability: Approximately one in three (34 percent) employees believe that if they were made redundant they would be able to find a new job that matches their skills and experience within the next six months, up two percentage points on previous quarter. Of those currently unemployed, 38 percent believe they will find a job over the next six months - up 8 percentage points on the previous quarter. Compared to the same period in 2014, this figure has increased by 13 percentage points. Nearly half (46 percent) of 25-34 year olds feel confident of finding a new job matching their experience in the next six months compared to just 24 percent of those in the 55+ range.
1 The Q1 2016 survey of 2,028 people, among whom 923 are employed full-time/part-time, was conducted online within Great Britain by Harris Interactive on behalf of Glassdoor from 21/03/16 to 24/03/16. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact pr@glassdoor.com.
