According to a press release, 12% of workers whose
companies cut benefits or perks said they would stay at their current jobs for
six months or less, while 18% who experienced pay cuts said they are willing to
stay at their current job for only six months or less. More than a quarter (27%)
of respondents who did not receive a raise or promotion in 2009 said they would
leave their current positions in less than a year if they do not receive
either.
"Many of the decisions employers made last year were
designed to preserve the health of their businesses and many survived because
of them," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for
CareerBuilder, in the press release. "In some cases, workers were affected
by the cost-cutting measures and job satisfaction levels suffered. For example,
61% of employees said they were satisfied at their jobs last year - down from
70% in 2008."
Fifty-seven percent of workers did not receive a raise
last year, up sharply from 35% in 2008. Of those that did receive raises, 28%
were given an increase of 3% or less. Seventy-one percent of workers did not
receive a bonus.
To help make ends meet in 2009, 8% of workers took on a
second job, and 19% plan to find a second job in 2010 to supplement their main
paycheck.
Twenty-eight percent of workers indicated they are
dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the career advancement opportunities
provided by their current employers. Ninety percent of workers did not receive
a promotion in 2009, and nearly a quarter (23%) said they felt they were
overlooked.
Nearly a quarter (23%) of workers rated their corporate
leaders as poor or very poor. Workers cited an inability to address employee
morale (35%), not enough transparency (30%), and major changes are made without
warning (28%) as their main concerns with senior leadership.
Nearly one-quarter (23%) of workers said they are
dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their work/life balance - up from 18%
who said the same last year. Twenty-six percent of workers are dissatisfied or
very dissatisfied with training and learning opportunities provided by their
current employers.
Twenty percent of workers said they plan to switch
careers/fields in the next two years, with the top reasons being to pursue a
more interesting line of work (67%), higher pay (54%), more career advancement
(41%) and increased stability (36%). To learn new skills, 12% said they will
head back to school to make themselves more marketable in the new year.
The survey was
conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of
CareerBuilder.com among 5,231 U.S. workers (employed full-time; not
self-employed; non-government) ages 18 and over between November 5 and November
23, 2009 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their
responses to certain questions).