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Approximately one in three employees (32 percent) report pay raises to be among their top work-related resolutions for 2014, according to the Glassdoor fourth quarter 2013 Employment Confidence Survey.
The Glassdoor survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive, evaluates four key indicators of employee confidence each quarter: business outlook optimism, salary expectations, job security and job market optimism/rehire probability.
More than two in five (42 percent) employees expect a pay raise in the next 12 months, a high in nearly two years. Employees in the Northeast (49 percent) are more optimistic than employees in the West (36 percent) about a pay raise in the next year.
“Employees are beginning to feel more sure-footed in the economy and the job market, and in turn are hopeful and more confident about their chances of seeing their compensation rise. They are also feeling less fearful and are looking forward to taking a breather and taking time out to go on vacation,” Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor career and workplace expert, said in a statement.
Other top resolutions for the new year focus on personal improvement and welfare, including one in five (20 percent) employees reporting they plan to take or use all the vacation days they have earned, up 7 percentage points from the year prior.
In addition, nearly one in five (19 percent) say they want to attend work-related training, up 3 percentage points from last year. Managers may also want to beware, as 3 percent of employees admit they want to help get their boss or supervisor fired in 2014.
Employees concerned over being laid off (15 percent) holds steady since last quarter, remaining at its lowest in five years. However, when it comes to concerns over others being laid off in the next six months, more than one in four (27 percent) employees are concerned, up 3 percentage points from last quarter.
More than one in three (35 percent) unemployed job seekers believe they could find a job in the next six months matched to experience and compensation levels, down 3 percentage points from last quarter.
When employees were asked if they could find a job matched to their experience and current compensation levels should they lose their current job, two in five employees (41 percent), including those self-employed, believe it is likely they could within the next six months.
“If economic and business news continue to show signs of furthering stability, we will undoubtedly begin to see greater employee confidence, which will in turn catalyze more movement within the employment pool,” Rueff continued.