News

Worker Confidence Index™ Falls for 2nd Consecutive Quarter

Anxiety about Job Security, Raises, Promotions and Trust at Odds With Rising Unemployment, Aligns With Consumer Confidence

 

One_thing_HR_and_Procurement_can_agree_on-1.jpgPHILADELPHIA, PA – April 29, 2016 – American workers’ confidence has reached a two-year low after falling for the second consecutive quarter, according to the national Worker Confidence Index™, a survey of U.S. workers from HRO Today Magazine and Yoh, the leading international talent and outsourcing company owned by Day & Zimmermann. The index gauges workers’ perceptions of the four key drivers of confidence: the likelihoods of job loss, a promotion and a raise, as well as overall trust in company leadership.

 

The Worker Confidence Index showed confidence levels fell to their lowest level since this study’s inception in mid-2014, down 3.3 points to 94.5 from the third quarter of 2015. Fourth quarter results followed a third quarter that was previously the lowest recorded score to date. The index showed steep declines across the board in job security, raise potential and trust in leadership.

 

Since the study began, the Worker Confidence Index has shown to be a leading indicator of future economic health in the U.S., showing identical rises and falls in worker confidence ahead of similar rises and falls in consumer confidence, indicating employees’ confidence in their employment status impacts their buying power and the overall health of the American economy. Measured by four key factors, the survey reveals that Americans’ perceived job security appears to be a more accurate predictor of economic health and U.S. spending power than unemployment rates.

 

“Today’s fast-changing employment dynamic is not only forcing HR and recruitment to think differently about the way they approach talent acquisition and management, but it’s affecting the economic outlook as a whole as dissatisfied employees often lead to unhappy consumers,” said Andy Roane, Vice President of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) for Yoh. “If companies want to improve their relationship with employees they need to adopt a formalized plan for engaging them, monitoring their well-being and addressing it in a way that builds positive sentiment and avenues for providing constructive feedback among all levels and types of workers.”

 

Key takeaways of the Worker Confidence Index™ include:

 

Less than one-quarter of Americans expect a raise

Respondents’ perceived likelihood of receiving a raise of at least 3 percent after their next review fell for the second consecutive quarter, to 24.6 percent from 25.7 percent. Over the course of the year, Americans’ perceived likelihood of a raise has fallen 3 percentage points.

 

Women are more confident than men in job security, but less confident in likelihood of promotion and likelihood of a raise

While women felt their job status overall was safe, few saw any chance of moving up or getting more money any time soon. In the fourth quarter, 6.9 percent of women felt it was likely they’d lose their job in the next year, compared to 10.2 percent of men. This continues a trend of women feeling more confident in their overall job security.

Conversely, just 15.9 percent of women expected a promotion in the next year compared to 20.3 percent of men. And just 21.4 percent of women expected a raise by their next employee review, compared to 28.3 percent of men. 

 

Americans’ trust in company leadership is at its lowest point since 2014

Respondents’ trust in company leadership to make sound decisions for the company and its employees is at its lowest level since the study’s inception, down to 39.6 percent from 42 percent the previous quarter. Trust has declined overall for three consecutive quarters, with lower income individuals and older workers less trusting in leadership than high earners and young workers.

 

Survey Methodology


Each month, HRO Today magazine employs ORC International's CARAVAN® Omnibus Surveys. Approximately 333 interviews are conducted online each month. Respondents are individuals age 18+ who are working full-time in the U.S. Quarterly reports are issued based on 1,000 responses per quarter. Respondents are asked a series of four questions.  Each question uses a Likert-type scale where respondents rate each question on a 1-5 scale, with one being “Very poor” and 5 being “Very favorable.” The four questions asked are:  Involuntary Job Loss Possibility, Likelihood of Promotion, Anticipation of a Raise of at least 3% and Trust in Company Leadership. To view the entire study, please visit, www.HROToday.com.

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