Employees relegate job satisfaction to second place behind pay and benefits

A desire to ‘increase pay and benefits’ has become the number one reason why employees want to change jobs, overtaking ‘improving job satisfaction’ in the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) Employee Outlook survey.

The survey of 2,000 employees finds more than half of workers (54%) say their top reason for wanting to change job is to increase their salary and benefits, with improving job satisfaction cited second most commonly (42%).

This is a reversal from last year when 61% cited job satisfaction and 48% said improving pay and benefits. The trends are uniform across all sectors.

Other findings that highlight increased financial pressure include:
• 36% of employees report their standard of living has worsened over the previous six months, compared to 29% saying this was the case in summer 2010
• Just 7% report an improvement in living standards, a fall from 10% a year ago
• Almost a fifth (18%) of employees say they run out of money at the end of the week or month either always or most of the time
• One in five (18%) say keeping up with bills and financial commitments is a constant struggle, while one in 10 (8%) are falling behind with bills or credit commitments

Ben Willmott, senior public policy adviser, CIPD, said: “The survey shows the ongoing impact of the economic downturn in the workplace. Employees are feeling the squeeze as a result of pay freezes or low pay settlements that fail to keep up with inflation.

“Besides being more likely to want to leave for more pay elsewhere, workers with financial difficulties are also more likely to report being under stress at work and are typically less satisfied with their jobs. Prolonged exposure to stress is associated with absence from work, higher levels of accidents and higher incidence of mental ill health.

“It is, therefore, in employers’ interests to support employees in tough times through ensuring line managers are equipped with effective people management skills and by providing advice and support on debt management and financial planning. The Government’s Money Advice Service can provide support for employers in this respect.

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