Employees ‘prepared to work longer hours for less pay’

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UK employees are ‘increasingly accepting’ of working longer hours for the same or less money, even as the economy recovers from the recession, according to a new survey for the Guardian.

The survey of over 5,000 working adults, carried out by ICM for the Guardian and insurer Unum, found that one in five are now working longer hours since the onset of the recession, whilst 16% say their salary has gone down.

A quarter said they do not expect to receive a pay rise in the next three years and just 10% expect a promotion in the next year.

However, despite this, 72% said they are happy in their jobs and only 27% doubt they’ll still be working for their current employer in five years’ time.

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Many also revealed support for the way their organisation handled the recession, with only 17% saying they felt their employer had not dealt well with the the downturn, and half agreeing that their employer was well-placed to deal with the business challenges of the next ten years.

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