Less than half (43%) of employees are satisfied with their level of pay when looked at against their duties and responsibilities. Some 53%, however, are happy with their overall benefits package according to the Putting it in perspective survey 2006 by ORC International. This gap is despite rising satisfaction levels around pay over the past six years. It is most noticeable in the public sector, where there is more than a 15 percentage point difference between satisfaction with benefits and satisfaction with pay.
The not-for-profit sector stands out when looking at perceptions of pay, with satisfaction levels 18% above the UK norm. Employees here also feel their pay is reasonable compared with similar jobs in other organisations. At the bottom of the pile, however, is central government where employee satisfaction was 4% below the UK norm, closely followed by local government and finance at 1% below. The report also looked at employees' engagement with their employer. Those with less than one year's service were the most positive, with 82% saying that they were satisfied with their organisation. This fell to 70% for those with more than five years' service.
For more information email jacqueline.howell@orc.co.uk