Employees Everywhere: We Want a Raise This Year 2014 looks like the year that employees are finally saying, 'It's time to take care of me.'
By Laura Entis
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Employees' top work-related resolution for 2014? A resounding: make more money. A whopping one in three workers listed getting a raise as a top priority this year, making it the most popular resolution, according to rate-your-company startup Glassdoor's Employment Confidence Survey.
More than two in five employees expect a pay raise in the next 12 months, a nearly 2-year high. That employees are concentrating on making more money -- instead of simply hanging on to their current salary - indicates a new sense of empowerment, says Rusty Rueff, a Glassdoor career and workplace expert. "We've been doing this survey since the fourth quarter of 2008, so we watched the trough -- we're only just coming up the backside of that curve now," he says. During the recession a pay raise was not even a consideration (much less a demand) for most employees, many of whom were willing to take dramatic pay-cuts just to keep their current position.
This year's second most popular resolution - looking for a new job - also points to a growing optimism. "Only 15 percent of employees are worried about a layoff in the next six months, which remains the lowest number that we've seen in the last five years," Rueff says, an indication that workers feel comfortable and confident enough to leave stable positions in search of more lucrative opportunities.
Related: The 10 Best Medium-Sized Companies to Work for in 2014
Assuming the economy stays the same or improves, 17 percent of employees say they would consider looking for new job in the next three months, while 32 percent say they'd consider shopping around for a new position in less than a year. "That's a very active number," Rueff says. "Employers really need to pay attention to this, and try to match employee expectations."
Unsurprisingly, millennials (those 18-34) are the most likely to consider looking for something new. Nearly half say they plan to look for another job in the next year, compared to 32 percent of 35-44 year-olds, 23 percent of 45-54 year-olds, 21 percent of 55-64 year-olds, and 16 percent of those ages 65 and older.
The biggest change from last year's top work-related resolutions to this year's? Employees are placing a new emphasis on getting away from it all. Twenty percent of those surveyed said that using all of their earned vacation days in the next 12 months was a top priority, up seven points from last year.
The Glassdoor survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive from Dec. 6 to Dec. 10, surveying 2,039 adults ages 18 and older.
Related: Salary Review Season Is Coming. Who's Getting a Raise?
