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Employees Mixed On Expectations For 2011 Raises; Reported Layoffs Fall Yet Cuts To Health And Dental Benefits Rise

Glassdoor Team — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:30:02 +0000

It’s no wonder employees and job seekers are having a hard time getting a handle on the state of the job market and whether our economy is showing any improvements. In November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the unemployment rate creeped up from 9.6% to 9.8% only drop down to 9.4% in December. In parallel, the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence which had improved in November, decreased slightly in December.

To shed more light on what is influencing and impacting today’s workforce, Glassdoor has just released the results of its latest Employment Confidence Survey that reveals what those on the front lines, the employees and job seekers, are really seeing and feeling. Below are highlights showing where they are feeling optimistic, unsure and where they’re seeing changes at their company or in their job search.

Starting on a high note…

Employees More Confident in Job Security: After edging up in the third quarter, employee concerns about layoffs dropped in the fourth quarter. Employees concerned that they could be laid off in the next six months decreased to 17 percent, down three points from the third quarter and the year-ago quarter (20 percent). Employee concern for coworker layoffs also dipped slightly in the fourth quarter, with 31 percent reporting concerns their coworkers could be laid off in the next six months. This comes as December layoff reports reported by Challenger, Grey and Christmas fell to the lowest levels since 2002.

Company Outlook Improves: This past quarter, 42 percent of employees (including those self-employed) reported they expect their company outlook to get better in the next six months, up from 38 percent in the third quarter. Only nine percent expect their company’s outlook to get worse in the next six months, down from 13 percent in the third quarter, and 10 percent in the year-ago quarter. (Interestingly, those in the West are more pessimistic in this area: Twice as many employees in the West (15%) expect their company’s outlook to get worse in the next six months than those in the Northeast (7%) and South (7%).

But as career expert Rusty Rueff notes, “While there are some positive indicators in the labor market, employees are getting mixed signals from their employers and the market.” As a case in point, they survey also found:

Compensation Cuts Continue; Raise Outlook Pessimistic: While employees may feel more confident in keeping their jobs some may be paying the price to do so. One in four (27 percent) of those who reported a change at their company in the second half of 2010 said their own compensation (pay, bonus, etc.) was reduced during the same period. While just one-third (36 percent) expect a raise in the next 12 months. But as a silver lining, those who are bonus eligible, the majority (58 percent) expect a bonus – up one percentage point from the fourth quarter of 2008. We also found some variance between the sexes when it comes to bonuses. Of those bonus eligible, 62 percent of men expect a bonus compared to 53 percent of women.

Health and Dental Benefits Cutbacks Rising: While reports of layoffs and other actions declined or held steady in the fourth quarter, cuts in health and dental benefits are on the rise. This quarter, 28 percent of employees who cited at least some changes reported cuts to their health and dental benefit in the past six months, compared to 22 percent in the third quarter. It is worth noting however that employees did report fewer hiring freezes (24%), bonus cuts (10%) and cuts in perks and subsidies (12%) than in recent quarters.

Interested to read more from the Glassdoor Employment Confidence Report? You can find out more like how confident employees and unemployed are that they could find a job matched to their experience or compensation levels, and how the current state of employment is affecting people of varying ages, geographic locations, click here to read the full report.

What’s going on at your company? Did you get a bonus? Expect a raise? Are you feeling more optimistic, about the same or more pessimistic about the state of the job market?

Employees Mixed On Expectations For 2011 Raises; Reported Layoffs Fall Yet Cuts To Health And Dental Benefits Rise is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Employee Optimism is Up for Own Jobs, But Same Can’t Be Said for Co-workers. Glassdoor Releases Q4 Employment Confidence Survey

Glassdoor Team — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:45:23 +0000

Employees have spoken once again, and our Q4 Employment Confidence Survey*, conducted by Harris Interactive, has found that only 20% are concerned they could be laid off in the next six months – a rate that has fallen for the fourth consecutive quarter. Only 13% of those employees who work for companies that haven’t had or communicated layoffs are concerned about being laid off compared to 37% who work for companies that have initiated or communicated layoffs.

The employment picture isn’t so rosy for co-workers, however. Nearly 40% are concerned their co-workers could get laid off in the next six months, a slight increase from Q3. And Baby Boomers are the least optimistic – almost half of those 45-54 (49%) are concerned about getting laid off.

Employees are optimistic when it comes to their company – 9 out of 10 believe their company’s outlook will stay the same or get better in the months ahead.

Employee expectations for pay raises and bonuses have also edged up in this quarter. More than one-third expect a pay raise in 2010, up slightly from Q3. Salary confidence is higher among men (41%) than women (30%) when it comes to receiving increased pay and more than twice as many men aged 45-54 (47%) than women of the same age (22%) expect pay increases in next 12 months.

And what about a bonus? The Glassdoor survey found that:

Slightly more employees said they were bonus eligible in the fourth quarter (73%) than in the third (69%).
Of those eligible, 65% say they expect a bonus while 35% do. Of those expecting a bonus, 24% expect their next bonus to be the same and 11% expect it to be more than their last bonus while 13% expect it to be less and 10% are unsure. By comparison in Q309, 62% expected a bonus and 34% did not and, in Q408, 57% said they expected a bonus while 40 percent did not.
46% of those who live in the West do not expect a bonus, compared to 33% in the Northeast, 28% in the Midwest and 35% in the South.
Men have greater bonus expectations than women: only 31% do not expect to receive a bonus for which they are eligible, compared to 40% of women.
If you work for a company that has had layoffs, you are twice as likely to expect a lower bonus (20%) than those who work for companies that have not initiated or communicated layoffs (10%).

What do you think? Do you feel better today than you did six months ago? Do you think you’ll be making more in your job in six months, or get the full bonus you’ve been promised?

* Based on a survey of 2,257 adults ages 18 and older of whom 1,237 were employed full time/part-time.

Employee Optimism is Up for Own Jobs, But Same Can’t Be Said for Co-workers. Glassdoor Releases Q4 Employment Confidence Survey is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Is Employee Sentiment Improving? Glassdoor Releases Q3 Employment Confidence Survey

Glassdoor Team — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:40:18 +0000

Survey says? Yes.

In our Q3 Employment Confidence Survey* conducted by Harris Interactive, employees report modest declines in layoffs and pay cuts at their companies than was reported last quarter – this has likely contributed to increased employee confidence and optimism relating to future downsizing, pay raises, bonuses, company outlook and ability to get re-hired.

While there’s still a long way to go to a market recovery, we decided to test the waters and ask employees what they would expect from their employers once the economy becomes more stable and we return to a more typical level of unemployment. The results were telling: in short, they expect a lot:

57% expect a raise, bonus and/or promotion
35% expect hiring freeze to be lifted and/or more employees to be hired in their department
24% expect health benefits and perks that were previously reduced to be restored

But, what’s most interesting is how many employees plan to fly the coop: one in five employees expect to look for a new job once economy rebounds. Among those 18 to 44 years of age, the rate is one in four (24%) while considerably less for those over 55 (12%). (Glassdoor.com’s career expert Rusty Rueff will provide his insights in a follow up post on what this could mean to employers.)

Here are a few more interesting nuggets that show how employment confidence can vary by age, gender and geography:

While those concerned about layoffs retreated from prior quarters to 22% in Q3, from 26% in Q1, more men (26%) report concerns over possible layoffs in the next six months than women (17%). While the greatest layoff concern was found in male baby boomers (45 to 55 years of age) (30%), just one in 10 of younger females (18 to 34) were concerned with losing their job in the next six months.
33% expect a pay increase in the next 12 months while 49% do not; however, optimism is highest among those in the Northeast when compared to other parts of the country: Northeast: 40%, Mid-West: 34%, South: 31% and West: 29%. As a group, males aged 35-44 have the highest confidence (44%) that they will receive a pay increase while men over the age of 55 have the lowest expectations as 60% report they do not expect a pay increase.

So what if employees lost their job in this market? 44% think they would be able to find a job matched to their experience and compensation levels, which is up 5 points from Q2. Your age and where you live likely affects your confidence in getting rehired, however. Only 31% of those workers over 55 years of age think it’s likely they will find a new job matched to their skills and compensation levels whereas 51% of workers, ages 18 to 34, do. And, more than half (51%) of employees in the South think they could get rehired compared to other parts of the country: West (39%), Northeast (39%), Midwest (42%).
Optimism has even crept up among those who are already in the job market with nearly one-third saying they think it’s likely they will find a job in the next six months. However, only 18% of current jobseekers over the age of 55 think it’s likely, versus 48% of those 35 to 44 think they will be able to find a job.

Tomorrow the Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the September unemployment report, and forecasts predict the rate of loss will continue to decline. But does this mean that employees are in good shape to make demands or get a new job in 2010 given lower layoff concerns? The Employment Trends Index reports that job opportunities may open up early next year. Of course, if you listen to employees that could depend on where you live, your age and even your gender.

What do you think? Do you feel better today than you did six months ago? Do you think you’ll be making more in your job in six months?

* Based on survey of 2,257 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older, of whom 1, 195 are employed full time or part time and 166 are self employed.

Is Employee Sentiment Improving? Glassdoor Releases Q3 Employment Confidence Survey is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Citi Salaries Up; Bonuses Down

Glassdoor Team — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:05:08 +0000

Citigroup announced plans Wednesday to restructure their compensation by increasing base pay for employees whose salary would be affected by government bonus restrictions. The final plans are yet to be revealed, but sources note it would not affect overall compensation, but would shift the mix in compensation from bonus to salary to adhere to the mandate for bonus caps.

So what does this mean for Citigroup employees? Some could see their salary rise as much as 50% — purportedly to help keep top-tier talent at the struggling investment bank. We see one Citigroup Senior Fund Accountant report on Glassdoor.com that they are ‘underpaid’ and suggests that the company should “Hire more qualified managers and give pay based on performance.” Given that the company received $45 billion from the government, switching bonus dollars to base salary hardly seems like a good use of taxpayer money.

Citigroup salary reports on Glassdoor vary widely, with Executive Vice Presidents reporting a total compensation package of more than $500K. Anonymous reports for Managing Directors with the company note an average base salary of $210K with bonuses of up to $1 million.

Citi Salaries Up; Bonuses Down is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Reality Bites: Are Employees Disconnected from Market Realities?

Glassdoor Team — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:59:44 +0000

It’s the first full week of 2009 and what’s on employees’ minds? We were curious so we conducted a year-end survey with our friends at Harris Interactive to find out what employees are thinking about a variety of topics that affect our lives — layoffs, compensation, the future. You can read our advisory with a summary of findings here, but we’ve added a bit more perspective below. Overall, we were struck that there is an undercurrent of high employee confidence that runs counter to headlines and market realities of late. We’d love your opinions and thoughts on the findings. Have people been living on an island? Or is it just a basic case of denial?

Little Concern about Layoffs

It’s hard to turn anywhere these days without hearing something about layoffs. Maybe you know someone who’s been laid off or maybe you know 10, but it feels like the effects are everywhere. In fact, we continue to see increases in the frequency reviews are coming in with the word “layoff.” We did this original analysis in November. Today the percentage of reviews with the word “lay off” is hovering around six percent.

That’s why we found results from a recent survey so interesting – While more than half (52%) of employees admit they are working harder to avoid layoffs, 4 out of 5 employees say they have no concerns about being laid off in the next 6 months. The world is collapsing, but only 2 out of 10 people in a room are concerned they may lose their jobs? Interesting.

But when it comes to coworkers, more employees are concerned the jobs of others in their company may be in jeopardy – 42 percent are concerned other employees may lose their job in the next 6 months.

Just Say No to Pay Cuts

OK so if layoffs aren’t a looming concern at the moment, let’s just say you did discover your job was in jeopardy? What would you do to keep it? If you’re like the majority of employees surveyed, you’d be willing to take on more projects and responsibilities and work longer hours but not willing to take a pay cut, forfeit vacation or take an unpaid leave. In order to keep their jobs, employees would be willing to:

74% take on more projects or responsibility
60% increase amount of hours worked
46% give up perks like commuter subsidies, on-site cafeteria, child care, dry cleaner, gym access
32% accept a reduction in health and dental benefits coverage
30% accept a cut in salary or wages
24% forfeit paid time off or vacation
24% take an unpaid leave or sabbatical

Pay Out Pending? Compensation Outlook Varies by Gender

We’re always extremely curious about salaries and compensation but we’re also curious about expectations so we asked. If you’re like us, you’ll find this interesting:

57% expect a bonus (of those eligible in December) and of those the majority expect the bonus will be the same or more than their last bonus. See how it breaks down for those who expect a bonus:
- 41% expect it to be about the same as last bonus
- 28% expect it to be less than last bonus
- 15% expect it to be more than last bonus
- 16% are unsure of the amount
40% expect a raise in the next 12 months, equally split with those who don’t (40%) and 20 percent are unsure.

Men have more optimism for the outlook for base bay than women, 46% of men think they will get a raise in the next 12 months compared to 35% of women. However, the converse is true for bonuses. More men expect to get less bonus this year than women.

Interestingly, Hewitt recently released a report that predicts 7 million Americans will see the lowest pay raises in decades. Maybe the employee memos haven’t gone out yet.

Stay tuned for some commentary from our Glassdoor workplace expert Rusty Rueff.

Reality Bites: Are Employees Disconnected from Market Realities? is a post from: Glassdoor Blog