Pic credit: The Guardian
More than half (52%) of Britain’s employees are unhappy with their rate of pay, feeling underpaid for the hours they work or duties they carry out, according to new research by job search engine Adzuna. Nationwide, a mere 3% of us are completely satisfied with our current salary level.
The survey, conducted by job search engine Adzuna in January 2015, analysed attitudes of over 1,000 UK workers to highlight salary satisfaction levels across 30+ industries in 12 UK regions. Payrise potential was also analysed by the research, which was conducted to celebrate the launch of ValueMyCV, a unique, free tool that calculates how much you’re worth based on your CV. The service also automatically suggests improvements to your CV, matches you to relevant jobs based on your skills and creates an interactive ‘career pathway’ based on your job title.
Despite despondency over current pay levels, Britain proved itself a nation of optimists, with more than half of British workers hoping for a wage increase in the coming year. While salary dissatisfaction levels were higher among male respondents than their female colleagues, the women remained more confident of a pay rise in 2015, with 55% of Britain’s female employees expecting an increase this year.
Regional breakdown of salary satisfaction:
The grumpiest workers in the UK are based in the East of England (62% of those surveyed felt they were owed a pay rise), closely followed by the East Midlands (60%) and Scotland (60%). At the other end of the scale, employees in the South West were the happiest workers in England, with the North West and London following closely behind.
Londoners topped the charts as the most ambitious workers in the country, with 57% angling for 2015 pay increase. Those in the East Midlands, North West and South East also entertained high hopes of hikes in pay. The UK’s most pessimist employees can be found in the East of England, where the research highlighted the lowest ambitions of a pay rise. Workers in Scotland and Yorkshire & the Humber also indicated a potentially austere 2015 could be on the cards.
Britain’s happiest and unhappiest workers:
Retail staff and lawyers proved the most miserable of all UK workers, two thirds (65%) professing extreme unhappiness with their rate of pay. Six in ten lawyers, however, remain hopeful of further increases, while only four in ten shop assistants hold the same ambitions. Accountants and financiers took third place, despite average advertised salaries of £37,384, 8% above national average earnings of £34,549.
Consultants are the happiest profession in the country, with just one in five voicing complaints about their annual earnings, and half anticipating higher income in 2015 than last year. Workers in the technology and manufacturing sectors rounded out the three happiest lines of work.
Andrew Hunter, Co-Founder of Adzuna, said “With the launch of ValueMyCV, Adzuna is making great strides in promoting fair pay for all, giving employees across the country the tools to negotiate consummate pay for their skills and experience. From retail assistants in the East to management consultants in the South West, our mission is to make 2015 the year of salary satisfaction for UK workers.”
Check out Value my CV. It calculates how much your skills and experience are worth.
Best of luck with your job search!
