HR consultancy Reabur asked 1,293 adults across the UK what salary they believe they are ‘worth’ according to their own opinion, as well as the amount that they actually earn, their job title, qualifications and years of experience.
The data supplied by the participants was analysed to discover if they over- or under- estimate their monetary worth to their employer.
The poll found 18% of respondents wrongly think they are underpaid by £5,000 each year and a further 29% believe they should be paid an extra £3,000.
According to the results, 93% believe their employer underpays them and only 4% cited that they are happy with their salary.
Only 8% of those asked underestimate their financial worth to their company when compared with the market and sector that they work within.
When asked ‘do you enjoy your job?’ 54% answered ‘no’, yet 73% of the respondents admitted to liking the company they work for and two thirds, 67%, claim they do not want to leave their employment.
Kirsty Burgess, co-founder of Reabur, said: "This research did surprise me. Not so much that people believe that they underpaid – because I think we would all like a little extra money each month – more so by the fact that respondents believe they are worth an extra £5,000 each year, which shows that they are out of touch with the market rate for their role.
"Salaries can be a very difficult subject to approach; they are very emotive and companies have to be especially careful when employees working in the same team are earning different amounts from their colleagues. They have to ensure the differences are justified and will stand up to equality legislation. It is always good to undertake benchmarking exercises to ensure you are paying market rates, and your HR department or HR consultant should provide that service."
Majority of workers overestimate their monetary worth to their employer
More than nine out of 10 UK employees think they are underpaid although 61% of them wrongly overestimate their worth, research reveals.
