CREDIT CRUNCH
UK workers have mixed reactions to pay freezes
Employees are divided in how they receive changes made to their employment deal during the recession, according to research commissioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The PwC research surveyed 729 UK workers who have been hit by changes to their reward - pay, benefits and bonuses - working hours or who work for organisations that have made redundancies.
Jon Terry, partner and head of reward at PwC, commented: “Pay and promotion freezes, changes to pension schemes, cuts in recruitment and slashed training budgets, combined with poor communication, have eroded the bonds of trust between some employers and their employees. In contrast, other organisations have excelled at doing more with less to engage and develop their employees in an unstable employment landscape where many individuals view their career prospects as stagnant or diminishing"
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Survey results
Almost half (49%) of respondents said their reaction to their employers’ decisions was that they understood as times are tough.
Just 8% said the changes made them angry.
A third (34%) said they found such decisions demotivating and just 3% said they were motivated by their employer taking decisive action.
Some 6% did not agree with any of these sentiments.
A final word
“While workers are generally resigned to what the recession may mean for their pay and promotion prospects, communication between employers and employees can make all the difference between how this news is received and the level of trust in the relationship. And, while a pay cut is never good news, some companies are showing their top performers how much they value them in other ways such as explaining their succession plans or offering smaller ad-hoc awards for specific projects.
“As the long-term impact of people decisions taken during the downturn begins to be felt, the winners and losers of the war for talent are starting to reveal themselves - with those who continued to focus on investment and employee engagement emerging as clear leaders. Those who continued to offer their employees new opportunities and invested in their people pipeline are now at a competitive advantage.” - Jon Terry, partner and head of reward at PwC.
Want to know more?
The research was commissioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers and conducted by Opinium Research in August 2009. For more information about the PwC’s Managing Tomorrow’s People series and to download a copy of Managing Tomorrow’s People: How the downturn will change the future of work, visit www.pwc.com/managingpeople2020.
PricewaterhouseCoopers provides "industry-focused assurance, tax, and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders". For more details visit www.pwc.com.