Employee Confidence In Job Security Mixed

Employees have mixed feelings about what is in store at their employer, for the overall job market and their pay check in the year ahead, according to a new survey released by Glassdoor.com and conducted by Harris Interactive.

In the fourth quarter, 40 percent of employees reported their employers made changes to the number of staff, organizational structure, compensation and benefits, or other perks in the past six months, which is down from 55 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 when the majority of these job actions involved layoffs or layoff plans. In the past year, the highest incidence of employer actions shifted to compensation changes or cuts. This quarter, more than half (52 percent) of employees who reported at least some change indicated their company made changes to or reduced compensation in the past six months, up from 50 percent a year ago.

“Employees are getting mixed signals from their employers and the market, so it’s no surprise employee confidence in the fourth quarter reflects a mixed bag of optimism and caution," said Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor.com career and workplace expert.

"Employment confidence is very personal. While there are some recent positive indicators in the labor market, these don’t capture the wide range of employer cuts and other actions employees see and feel on a regular basis. Employee sentiment about their job, company and market will likely remain tempered until they see consistent and sustained periods of growth, fewer cutbacks at work and among their friends’ companies, and more people getting hired into positions that were either eliminated or put on hold during the recession."

Employees are less confident about getting a pay raise in the next 12 months than in the past two quarters. Nearly half (45 percent) of employees report they do not expect a pay raise in the next 12 months while approximately one-third (36 percent) believe they will and 19 percent are unsure.

For the first time in a year, slightly more unemployed job seekers think it is likely (31 percent) that they will land a job in the next six months than those who believe it is unlikely (27 percent) while one-third (34 percent) remain uncertain.

In the fourth 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