The platform, Edenred, together with the University of Granada, have carried out the study “Influence of Covid19 on salary policies”, in order to know in depth how the health crisis suffered in 2020 and 2021 has affected Spanish remuneration.
Among its main conclusions is that the arrival of Covid19 not only had a direct impact on health, but also on the work environment, and more specifically in the salary conditions of the workforce. Approximately one in four workers has seen their salary reduced in this crisis. “Specifically, 7.7% of those surveyed have suffered a decrease in their fixed salary, this percentage rising to 23.3% if the variable salary is considered”, comments Lola Vidal, researcher at the University of Granada and co-author of the study.
The reasons for this reduction in fixed salary They are due to the decrease in business volume, according to 55%. In the rest of the cases, the people surveyed state that the reasons are a reduction in working hours, partial or due to a Temporary Employment Regulation File (ERTE).
How the work stoppage affected
In addition, the temporary stoppage of some sectors triggered several ERTEs. In fact, as this study shows, 12.4% of those surveyed were subjected to ERTE, although 85% did not spend more than 9 months in this situation. However, as Lola Vidal states, “These employment regulations have affected SMEs and large companies differently. Thus, while in large companies the number of people who have been in this situation does not reach 10%, in SMEs the percentage almost reaches 20%. However, SMEs have rescued their workers before. ‘
If there is a trend that to a greater or lesser extent has become generalized, is to work from home. 85% of people report having had to do their work from home during the most complicated stage of the pandemic. “This new labor reality, which opens the door to a facility for conciliation, has meant an increase in the labor demand in the jobs, increasing the time spent (working hours) as well as the pressure received or the required performance “, has declared Manuel Asla, director of marketing and product of Edenred Spain.
Despite this, most of the people surveyed are satisfied with the way their companies face the crisis (80%), as well as with the information received about their actions to overcome it (almost 85%).
Secondly, the salary range between 20,000 and 30,000 euros net per year it is the most frequent among those surveyed (29.5%). In fact, 71.8% do not exceed 40,000 euros in net salary per year.
One of the factors that mark the salary differences is the age, added to seniority in the position and work experience, the highest salary interval being 46 years, which is greater than 50,000 euros. This seems to confirm that responsibility is rewarded with higher salaries and this is a general trend throughout the business fabric, although in large companies the salary range is higher than in SMEs.
Satisfaction with salary
Among all the personnel surveyed, 51.1% declare that they are satisfied with their salary and around 50% of those who receive social benefits state that they are satisfied with their amount and value.
As the Marketing Director of Edenred Spain explains, “satisfaction with the benefits is greater when the costs are assumed by the company, but it shows that many workers are unaware of the advantages of flexible remuneration as an alternative when the cost is not assumed by the company ”.
On the other hand, respondents positively value the fact that the organization provides them with information related to the salary changes suffered. Therefore, we see how information and transparency is synonymous with a positive perception.
The commitment of the workers
A particularly relevant aspect for organizations is having a highly committed workforce. This commitment to the organization causes the hired personnel to assume the objectives of the company as their own and is prone to make efforts beyond what their work obligations establish. In a context as turbulent and uncertain as the current one, this commitment is presented as fundamental, given the sacrifices and efforts that organizations and their members have had to carry out in order to face the consequences derived from the pandemic.
Thus, more than 70% of the people surveyed state that they are committed to their current company and almost 40% express that their commitment is very high. So much so that 84.4% have a low intention of leaving their current organization.
In conclusion, perceiving that the salary received is fair and being satisfied with the remuneration reduces the intention to quit.
