With the cost of living rising and real UK wages falling at the fastest pace on record, making ends meet is top of mind for many workers.
New Glassdoor research shows that 1 in 5 UK workers are worried about finding a job that supports the cost of living at the moment (22%), and people are only getting more anxious.
- Text analysis of words on Fishbowl by Glassdoor show that mentions of “cost of living”, “inflation” and worries about “rent”, “petrol”, “accomodation” and “bills” have increased by 67% since last summer. (July 2021-July 2022)
- Additionally, negative mentions of “salary”, “pay” and “compensation” in Glassdoor reviews have increased by 16% since 2020. More than 700,000 reviews by UK-based employees were examined.
Pay complaints have spiked among government workers
The largest increase in salary complaints is among government workers – up 26% from 2021. In previous years, government workers were less likely to discuss salary negatively but this has now shot to the top as public sector wage growth falls far behind the private sector, suggesting a potential future exodus of government workers. Healthcare workers have also begun to complain about pay a lot more.
Hospitality (restaurants, food service, travel and accommodation) employees, who have seen unusually high pay growth, show the opposite pattern, with salary complaints dropping.
Lauren Thomas, Glassdoor’s EMEA Economist said, “The only constant in 2022 is change -and skyrocketing prices. Even with high wage growth and a tight labour market, workers are feeling the pinch as inflation emerges as the biggest winner.
“With real wages falling a record 3.0% thanks to inflation, the cost of living is a priority for many job seekers.
“Job vacancies, which have hit record highs month after month, have started to fall but even now employers can’t rest easy. Hiring will remain difficult, particularly in industries like hospitality and healthcare where employees’ Glassdoor reviews show they feel overworked and underpaid.”
Leave a Comment