According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), 49% of employees understand their employers' decisions over reward and working hours because times are tough. Just 8% said the changes made them angry while a third (34%) admitted they found such decisions demotivating. Only 3% said their employer taking decisive action motivated them.
Jon Terry, partner and head of reward at PwC, said: "Pay and promotion freezes, changes to pension schemes, cuts in recruitment and slashed training budgets, combined with poor communication, have eroded the bonds of trust between some employers and their employees. In contrast, other organisations have excelled at doing more with less to engage and develop their employees in an unstable employment landscape where many individuals view their career prospects as stagnant or diminishing.
"While workers are generally resigned to what the recession may mean for their pay and promotion prospects, communication between employers and employees can make all the difference between how this news is received and the level of trust in the relationship. And while a pay cut is never good news, some companies are showing their top performers how much they value them in other ways, such as explaining their succession plans or offering smaller ad-hoc awards for specific projects.
"Those who continued to offer their employees new opportunities and invested in their people pipeline are now at a competitive advantage."
