These are the top industries where pay is linked to performance
Most employees don't think their performance is linked to their pay packet, according to a new ..
Most employees don't think their performance is linked to their pay packet, according to a new study.
Less than half of workers in every industry surveyed by Emoulement agreed that their pay was linked to performance. In the study of 2,200 people, only 34 per cent of those who received bonuses thought there was a link, with this slipping to just 24 per cent among people who do not get bonuses.
The study also ranked industries by how strong the link between pay and performance was perceived to be. While jobs which used well-established metrics -such as billable hours for law – were at the top, less structured industries were at the bottom. Sports, culture and recreation lagged far behind the rest of the pack with just eight per cent believing their performance was linked to pay.
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How performance-related is your pay?
| Rank | Industry | Percentage of employees who feel performance is a significant factor in pay |
| 1 | Recruitment and executive search | 42 per cent |
| 2 | Law practice | 40 per cent |
| 3 | Construction and real estate | 35 per cent |
| 4 | Technology and telecoms | 34 per cent |
| 5 | Transportation and logistics | 34 per cent |
| 6 | Energy, mining chemicals, environmental | 33 per cent |
| 7 | Services, tourism, restaurants | 33 per cent |
| 8 | Consulting and professional services | 32 per cent |
| 9 | Financial services | 30 per cent |
| 10 | Manufacturing | 29 per cent |
| 11 | Charity and not for profit | 29 per cent |
| 12 | Healthcare | 29 per cent |
| 13 | Pharmaceuticals and biotech | 28 per cent |
| 14 | Media, communication, music, gaming | 25 per cent |
| 15 | Insurance and reinsurance | 25 per cent |
| 16 | Consumer goods and FMCG | 25 per cent |
| 17 | Retail and trade | 25 per cent |
| 18 | Public sector and education | 22 per cent |
| 19 | Sports, culture and recreation | 8 per cent |
While some performed better than others, no industry had a majority of people who agreed about the performance-linked nature of their pay packet.
Alice Leguay, co-founder & CMO at Emolument said that this is bad news for employee motivation and productivity.
"If employees do not believe performance drives pay, what do they think does?" she said. "Is it longevity, politics, being in the right place at the right time?
"Whatever it is, the belief that performance has little or no impact on remuneration is disheartening and cannot possibly encourage productivity or a thriving corporate culture. Lack of transparency when it comes to remuneration may be an aggravating factor fostering suspicion and negativity as employees are concerned that they may be earning less than their peers with no way of benchmarking their pay."
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