Canadian employees enter new year with bright expectations: Survey

Three-quarters expecting salary to rise in 2013

Canadian employees are heading into the new year with a bright outlook and higher expectations about their work life, according to Randstad's latest Global Workmonitor.

“That’s great news,” said Hanna Vineberg, vice-president of Central Ontario, at Randstad Canada. “The confidence that Canada’s employees have means they will then have the confidence to invest in themselves and in their organization.”

Six in 10 (62 per cent) employees feel the economic situation in Canada is good and are optimistic about 2013. Two-thirds (65 per cent) of Canadian respondents also said they expect that the situation will improve next year. Additionally four in every five (80 per cent) companies are performing well financially and three out of four (74 per cent) expect to do even better next year, found the survey of 400 professionals.

On the other hand, global results differ as 61 per cent of employees globally label the economic situation in their country as “bad”. The highest scores are from Greece (98 per cent), Spain (96 per cent), Hungary and Italy (both 94 per cent).

The number of global employees who think the economic situation in their country is “good” ranks highest in Norway (94 per cent), Switzerland (87 per cent) and Sweden (74 per cent), found the Global Workmonitor, which interviewed 400 professionals from each of the 32 participating countries.

When it comes to yearly raises and bonuses, most employees feel stronger about deserving a financial reward. Two-thirds (65 per cent) of Canadian workers said they received a pay raise in 2012 compared to 2011. Three-quarters (74 per cent) of Canadian employees expect their salaries to rise in 2013, and 64 per cent feel they should receive a one-time reward or bonus for their achievements in 2012.

But despite the positive outlook, only 35 per cent of Canadians expect to receive a yearly bonus, found the survey.

In other parts of the world, financial expectations for 2013 are high. Globally, 76 per cent of the world’s respondents feel they should receive a financial reward or one-off bonus, based on their achievements in 2012. Yet only 53 per cent expect to actually receive such a reward.

Much of the world, including Canada agrees that achieving a work-life balance in 2013 is important. According to the survey results, 69 per cent of Canadian workers said their workload increased in 2012 while 75 per cent said they want a better work life balance in 2013.

While on a global scale, 80 per cent of respondent said they would like a better work-life balance in 2013. Mexico (87 per cent), Hong Kong (96 per cent) and Chile (96 per cent) rank the highest in this need, while Denmark (64 per cent), the Netherlands (66 per cent) and Belgium (67 per cent) ranked the lowest.

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