Today’S Workers Expect To Earn A Higher Wage

Fortified by a strong labor market and reports of six-figure salaries in the high-tech industry, workers are bringing inflated pay expectations to job interviews.

A study by Randstad North America found that 64 percent of all employees consider it a reality that employers must pay them more because of the U.S. economy’s strength. The highest expectations were among younger workers.

Nearly 80 percent of Gen Y and 70 percent of Gen X respondents said economic strength translates into higher wages, while not quite six in 10 “Matures and Boomers” said it was a reality.

In addition, the study found that 59 percent of employees consider “competitive industry wages” as an important factor in staying with their current job if a new job were offered. Still, that was below health insurance benefits, at 70 percent.

The Randstad study is based on responses to telephone interviews by more than 6,000 employees nationwide, as well as diaries kept by members of America Online.

They have no fear of jumping ship

Employee turnover is accelerating, as young workers in particular opt not to stay in any one job as long as they once did.

U.S. Labor Department statistics show that employees ages 25 to 34 had held their jobs an average of 2.7 years in 1998. That’s down from 3.0 years in 1983.

Experts say the trend reflects a new mind-set among younger workers, who saw their parents lose jobs during widespread corporate downsizing in the 1980s and ‘90s.

John Challenger, president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based outplacement firm, says workers have developed an independent, free-agent mentality in the wake of layoffs. As a result, they see their skills as permanently up for auction.

Casual Friday a bit too casual

Now that dress-down Friday has become entrenched in corporate culture, signs of discontent are starting to surface.

A survey of executives by Accountemps, a temporary staffing service based in Menlo Park Calif., found that 39 percent of managers believe workers appear too casual.

Five percent of the 150 executives polled said employees were dressed much too casual, while 34 percent said attire on casual dress days was somewhat too casual. A majority — 55 percent — said dress was appropriate.