In its latest extensive Global Labour Market Survey of more than 18,000 employees revealed the UK was closely followed by its European counterparts Spain, France and Belgium.
The research found that on average, global employees expect their salary to increase by 4.7%, peaking at an extraordinary 14.9% in Brazil and 13.7% in India, while their humble UK counterparts have significantly lower expectations, hoping for increases of only 0.8%.
These figures increase to 0.9%, 1.0% and 1.3% for France, Belgium and Spain respectively.
This apparent lack of self-belief doesn't stop there. As Eurozone unemployment figures hit a record high of 12% this week, CEB data shows that European recruits switched jobs for the lowest pay increases globally in Q4 2012; just 8.2% compared to a global average of 15.7%.
The findings suggest that economic conditions across Europe have eroded employee confidence and expectations across the region.
The survey stated: "While compensations ranks as the second top attraction driver globally, workforces across the UK are instead trying to find the balance between their work and personal lives with a better work-life balance ranking as the top driver."
