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New Survey of U.S. Employees Reveals Surprising Level of Optimism ST. LOUIS (PRNewswire), April 5, 2009 - Despite lower employee confidence in the areas of job security and pay raises, the majority of employees have a surprising level of optimism relating to their ability to sidestep layoffs, the future outlook of their employer and expectations for pay increases, according to the Q1 Glassdoor.com Employee Confidence Survey of 1,576 employed adults conducted by Harris Interactive. The new quarterly survey measures four key indicators of employee confidence in the areas of job security, salary expectations, re-hire probability and company outlook. In addition, the survey tracks the concessions employees are willing to take to keep their jobs. Job Security: 74% have no lay off concerns but overall concerns edge higher; more concerned about co-workers Fewer employees appear secure in their jobs as about one in four (26%) employees have concerns they could be laid off in the next six months whereas 44 percent are concerned co-workers could be laid off, up from 21 percent and 42 percent respectively in December. Despite the rise in concerns, nearly three in four (74%) employees have no concerns they will be laid off. Concerns are notably greater among those who work for companies that already had or communicated layoffs with 46 percent concerned they will be laid off in the next six months while 84 percent are concerned co-workers will. Company Outlook: 86% think company outlook will stay the same or improve in next six months Many employees, including those self employed, may think that the worst is over as the majority report that they expect their company's business outlook to remain stable (51%) or get better (35%) in the next six months compared to just 14 percent who think it will get worse. Those 55 and over have less confidence in their companies with 29 percent expecting the outlook to get better in the next 6 months compared to 42 percent of those 45-54. The future isn't as bright for those whose companies have already endured/communicated layoffs as these employees are three times more likely to expect their company's outlook to worsen (25%) in the next six months than those who haven't experienced such actions (8%). Salary Expectation: 36% expect annual raises; higher among men and those making $75K+ More than one-third (36%) of employees expect to receive a raise or cost of living increase in the next six months, down slightly from the 40 percent in December. Interestingly the highest confidence in expected pay raises is among those with the highest household income, above $75,000 per year (44%) and those who live in the Northeast (42%), which is the only region where more raises/cost of living increases are expected than not. Men also tend to be more bullish on raises than women with 39 percent and 32 percent respectively expecting a pay increase. The gender gap is larger for younger (18-34) workers with 43 percent of men expecting a raise/cost of living increase, compared to 31 percent of women. Re-Hire Probability: 46% of employees 55+ think it is unlikely they could find a new job within 6 months Should employees lose their job, 39 percent think it is at least somewhat likely they will find a job matched to their historical experience and compensation within six months. Re-hire confidence is highest among younger workers (18-34) as 43 percent say it is at least likely they will find a job within six months compared to 30 percent of workers 55 and over. In fact, 46 percent of workers 55 and over think it is unlikely they will find a new job at a commensurate level and more than one-fourth (29%) think getting re-hired within six months is very unlikely. Continued Next Column    Advertisements Continued Concession Indicators: Salary cuts, unpaid leave and vacation forfeiture becoming more palatable Taking on more projects and responsibility (70%) and working more hours (62%) remain the leading concessions employees are willing to accept to keep their job. However, in the past 3 months, more employees have warmed to salary cuts, unpaid leave, and lost vacation as options to keeping their pay check. Forty percent are now willing to take a pay cut compared to 30 percent last quarter and about one-third (34%) are willing to take unpaid leave, compared to the one in four (24%) in December. However, nearly half (48%) say they will not take a pay cut to keep their job and 38% will not take a furlough or other unpaid leave. Pay cuts are most acceptable to those with college degrees or higher (51%) and those earning more than $75,000 (48%). Younger employees (18-34) are more inclined to forfeit vacation or paid time off (35%) than workers 55+ (24%). 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