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Numerous surveys have asked employees about remote work, health and wellness, and other topics since the pandemic began a year ago. Despite the rapid changes and workplace disruption, however, nearly every employee continues to work for one simple reason – compensation. Elements Global Services recently surveyed more than 2,200 employees from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom about how the pandemic has affected compensation. As many as 65 percent of Americans surveyed said their income either stayed the same or fell in 2020.
Of those who said it decreased, the No. 1 reason was that they took a pay cut, as opposed to losing their job.
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Around 55 percent of Americans who had their pay cut during the pandemic said it has not returned to normal levels. That rises to 59 percent in Canada, while in the U.K. it's 52 percent.
Among the other findings:
Wage freezes common. Fifty-five percent of U.K. respondents said their employer froze raises during the pandemic, compared with 46 percent in both the United States and Canada.
Eemployees expect to make more or the same. Across the three countries surveyed, 50 percent of respondents expect to make more money in 2021 than last year, 30 percent expect to make at least the same amount and only 20 percent expect to make less.
Partial pay in bitcoin. Thirty-seven percent of U.S. employees are open to the idea of partially being paid in btcoin, despite the cryptocurrency's volatility. In the U.K. and Canada, the interest is even greater – 50 percent and 40 percent would accept some of their pay in Bitcoin, respectively.
Share cost savings with workers. Most employees believe they should share in their company's savings because of remote work. In the United States and Canada, 60 percent said yes, while 66 percent of British respondents agreed.
Saving important. Most respondents said they would save any unexpected extra income.
Raises enticing. A raise of between 20 percent and 25 percent would entice most people to change jobs.
Awareness of earnings. Seventy percent of Americans said some or all of their friends know how much they earn, and 65 percent said the same of co-workers. The numbers were slightly higher in the U.K and Canada. Eighty-three percent of Americans said their significant other knows what they earn.
Reason for higher exec pay. Sixty-nine percent of Americans said they understand why senior members in their organizations are paid as much as they are. In the U.K., that dropped to 65 percent, and in Canada, to 56 percent.
Boss's salary. Just more than half of people across the three countries said they know what their boss makes, whether it's the exact number or an approximation. Of those people, 35 percent believe their boss is overpaid. In the United States, 55 percent of workers said the CEO or owner of their company is overpaid, while it's 61 percent in the U.K. and 68 percent in Canada.
Mum's the word. Twenty percent of respondents said they have not discussed compensation with their employer during the past 24 months.
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Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
