When in March, 2007 we looked at factors motivating employees salary (i.e. money) came out on top. A year later InformationWeek has conducted a survey focusing on Information Technology workers and affirms the same.
In a survey of 9,653 IT professionals “base pay” ranked as #1 on the list of things that matter the most to employees. It was most important for 57% of staff and 50% of managers. The ranking is rather similar for both management and staff ranks, except “challenge of job/responsibility” which matters the most to 45% of staff (ranked third), while it stands at 55% for management!
The same survey finds that the median raise percentage this year is 2.9%, down from last year’s 3.3% which is possibly reflective of the difficult economic times. managers, in the meantime, are getting a median raise of 3.7% in the United States.
The survey is a confirmation of my assessment that the current generation of workers is looking for base (pun intended) benefits that are concrete and tangible. The millenials and, to some extent, Generation Xers have been raised in a more secure and confident environment and thus have higher demands.
While other factors remain important and helpful it is the amount of money on the pay cheque that determines the level of motivation and happiness of most employees. Once again, let us not kid ourselves.
What Matters Most To Staff
Base Pay 57%
Benefits 52%
Challenging Job 45%
Job Stability 42%
Flexible Work Schedule 39%
Respect 33%
Source:
http://www.informationweekanalytics.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=42
*Things That Need To Go Away: reserved parking for salesman of the month – unless a salesperson likes the idea.
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