How do employees perceive their salary?
12 February 2018
Every other employee in the Baltics and Central Europe considers their income to be inadequate with regard to job position. The highest rate of salary dissatisfaction was expressed by employees in Slovenia and Lithuania, where six out of ten employees consider their salary to be inadequate. The lowest rate of salary dissatisfaction was by employees in Finland, where only four out of ten employees feel underpaid. This is the result of the current international Paylab survey.
Low -income groups are not the only ones dissatisfied. The survey showed that even people earning above the national average consider their salary inadequate. Overall, wage dissatisfaction concerns 41% of employees whose earnings exceed the national average.
In contrast, only a fifth of employees in the Baltics and a quarter in Central Europe are confident they receive adequate pay for their work. Employees in Finland had the highest rate of salary satisfaction, where every other employee considers their income adequate. Three out of ten employees rate their salary as adequate in Slovakia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Serbia.
Only a minimum of employees (less than 1% of respondents) think they are overpaid.
Employees who feel underpaid are much more likely to look for a new, better-paid job as the most viable/acceptable way to increase their income. Read more about the most preferred strategy for employees seeking to increase income.
The Paylab survey was based on real salary data provided by the users of our salary portals who wanted to compare their pay in a given job position.
These findings are the result of the international Salary Satisfaction and Preferences Survey, which was conducted through Paylab Data Research tool in November and December 2017 on a sample of 34,065 respondents with real salary in 10 European countries. The survey is part of the Paylab Compensation Monitor, which regularly monitors remuneration and labour market trends.
About the survey
An international Salary Satisfaction and Preferences Survey was conducted through Paylab Data Research in 10 countries across Europe on a total sample of 34,065 respondents with real salary. It is part of the Paylab Compensation Monitor, which regularly monitors trends in employee preferences and remuneration in Europe. Data collection was conducted in November and December 2017 through localised salary portals: the Czech Republic - Platy.cz (5778 respondents), Slovakia - Platy.sk (6462 respondents), Hungary - Fizetesek.hu (3528 respondents), Slovenia - Placa.si (2629 respondents), Croatia - MojaPlaca.hr (3172 respondents), Serbia - InfoPlate.rs (735 respondents), Estonia - Palgad.ee (1268 respondents), Lithuania - Manoalga.lt (2371 respondents), Latvia - Algas.lv (1433 respondents), Finland - Palkkadata.fi (6689 respondents).
