More than half of male employees bearish on business outlook for 2012

Singapore employees are bracing themselves for the difficult year ahead.

Male employees in Singapore are more pessimistic about the business outlook for 2012 but still expect higher bonuses than their female colleagues, according to the Randstad Workmonitor Report for Q4.

A survey of 405 employees in Singapore found that half of the respondents expected next year to be more financially difficult than 2011, with 59% of males supporting this view. This reflects growing uncertainty compared to 48% of men who said that on review 2011 was a financially-tough year for their organisation.

Despite this pessimism, the majority of males expect to receive a bonus (85%) at the end of the year compared to 81% of the 214 female respondents.

Expectations for higher remuneration in 2012 is also clear, with 68% of men and 71% of women surveyed expecting a pay rise at the end of the year. The survey also found that 77% of male respondents do not believe their salary reflects accurately their performance, whereas the figure for females is 68%.

Randstad Regional Director, Singapore & Malaysia, Ms Karin Clarke, says despite economic uncertainty in the Eurozone, Singapore remains an employees’ market given the country’s low 2.0% unemployment rate.

“Employers can expect to see continued upwards wage pressure in 2012. While the expectation for remuneration differs between the sexes, companies should equally apply the same talent retention strategies to both men and women," Ms Clarke adds.