Women Advance in the Workplace in 2017
65% of business professionals received a raise in 2017, according to an Office Pulse satisfaction survey of 650 white-collar workers, down a hair from 66% in 2016. However, 2017 was a productive year for women in the workplace in terms of raises, promotions and overall workplace satisfaction.
Mind the Gap
More female professionals received raises than men (67% vs. 60%) in 2017, growing the small advantage they enjoyed in 2016 (66% vs. 65%). The latest data from the Census Bureau supports this notion that women are slowly inching towards closing the gender pay gap, with women earning 80.5¢ to each dollar men earn in 2016, compared to 79¢ in 2015.
Women edged men out in quite a few categories last year.
Women vs. Men |
||||
|
|
||||
| Received a raise | Like their boss | |||
| Satisfied at work | Feel secure | |||
| Promoted |
|
|
Of those who received a raise last year, women took home a slightly larger piece of the pie: 40% of female professionals received a raise of 4% or more, compared to 38% of men who took home that much.
Workplace Satisfaction
Taking all this into account, it’s not surprising that women (71%) were more satisfied at work than men (69%) last year. They’re also less likely to jump ship in the year ahead: More than one in five male professionals (21%) plan to quit their job within the next 12 months, compared to just 16% of women. On the flip side, 16% of women said they never plan to leave their current employer, compared to 13% of men.
Are you satisfied at work?
Overall employee satisfaction seemed to correlate with raises: 70% of satisfied workers received a raise in 2017, compared to 53% of unsatisfied workers. Promotions followed a similar trend: 19% of satisfied workers received a promotion in 2017, compared to 14% of unsatisfied workers.
Promotions, Pay & Cubicle Comradery
Money isn’t the only factor when it comes to workplace satisfaction. In an open-ended response, workers highlighted recognition, comradery, a challenging workload and flexible work schedules as the reasons for their workplace satisfaction.
Why are you satisfied at work?
“Like what I do. Love my co-workers. Great company culture. Great work life balance.”–Female, middle manager
“I like my work, like my boss, like my coworkers, and work environment.”–Female, professional
“I am supported in my outside endeavors and am acknowledged for the hard work I do.”–Female, senior manager
“I work with smart people and I am challenged on a daily basis.”– Male, middle manager
“I have a great manager and a great team and feel like I contribute to the bottom line.”–Female, middle manager
“I have autonomy. My boss gives praise and constructive feedback. There is a good work-life balance. High-quality benefits are available to me.”–Female, administrative
“I like my job, who I work with, the flexibility I have, and my compensation.”–Male, middle manager
“Work load is appropriate, growth is available, benefits/pay are good, around talented people.”–Female, professional
Boredom in the Boardroom
For those who weren’t satisfied at work, the top reasons were inadequate pay (20%), boredom (16%) and poor management (9%).
8% of business professionals quit their job in 2017 and another 18% plan to quit within the next year. While not all companies have the capacity to significantly increase compensation, they can make changes to workload and hierarchy that would improve workplace satisfaction and (hopefully) retention rates.
About Office Pulse
Office Pulse by Captivate offers marketers timely analysis and insights from a proprietary panel of upscale professionals in the top markets. The Office Pulse panel of more than 8,000 influential consumers and business decision makers includes C-level executives, Millennials, middle management, small business owners, working women and working moms.
About Captivate
Known for its vast network of nearly 12,000 elevator displays located in 1,600 premier office buildings across North America, Captivate connects advertisers with 13 million unique monthly viewers through creative, research-driven and Nielsen-measured advertising and marketing programs. By engaging its viewers with timely news and actionable information that helps balance the personal and professional demands of the workday, Captivate provides advertisers with a highly desirable and difficult-to-reach audience of affluent and influential business professionals. Founded in 1997, Captivate is owned by Generation Partners. For more information, please visit www.captivate.com.
