6 in 10 Singaporean workers feel overworked, underpaid

Only 58% got pay raise.

According to a jobsDB survey, 61% of Singaporeans feel overworked and underpaid relative to prevailing market rates.

Polling over 1,300 employees across 30 industries, the survey found that while 71% of respondents get a pay increment every 12 months they were not always satisfied with the amount. 

58% of the respondents last received a pay raise of 1-5%, but 84% felt that this should have been higher.

The survey also revealed that 25% of the respondents only received a pay review from their company every 18 months to two years.

With Singapore taking the title as the most expensive city in the world to live in for 2014, it’s not surprising that 63% of respondents cited pay as one of the highest motivations for going to work, with a third of respondents (32%) stating it as their biggest motivator. Other top job motivations include passion for what you do (18%), colleagues (9%) and corporate culture (6%).

“As the war for talent escalates, pay satisfaction and company loyalty will continue to be tested. More employees, although not actively looking for a job, are open to a job change given the right opportunity and pay increment. According to our survey, 76% of respondents rated salary as highly to extremely important when making the decision to change jobs.

“We understand that pay is a top priority for employees. With our new Search by Salary function, we strive to make it easier for job seekers to pursue the salary they deserve.” Sheldon Fernandez, General Manager of jobsDB Singapore and Malaysia commented.

With the Search by Salary function, job seekers can now confidently find jobs that match their salary expectations and goals, and be better prepared to negotiate their starting pay during an interview. Ultimately, this function saves precious time for both the employer and job seeker.