A little of half of employees across Eastern Europe (53%) felt that they were undervalued based on their salary, according to a survey by Alma Media.

The research, based on a wage satisfaction survey of more than 61,000 participants from Eastern Central European countries, also showed that only 1% considered themselves overvalued while 26% of participants thought their current salary was reasonable.

According to the survey, 27% are satisfied or completely satisfied with their current salary. A third of respondents (32%) reported being dissatisfied with their income, with 41% having a neutral view. 

When participants were asked the level of pay they would be satisfied with, 33% of respondents indicated that they would be satisfied with an 11%–20% pay increase. Another third (31%) wanted an increase between 20% and 50%, and 13% indicated that a 6%–10% increase would be sufficient. Furthermore, 5% of participants hoped their current salary would double. Lower-income respondents hoped for bigger pay increases.

Meanwhile, 58% of respondents would not recommend their own employer while 17% would be willing to actively recommend their employer. The reluctance to recommend one’s own employer was highlighted in lower-paid respondents.

The survey showed that dissatisfaction with pay is correlated with a desire to change jobs as 40% of respondents dissatisfied with their pay said they would like to change jobs in the next six months.

In addition, 39% of respondents were unsure whether to stay in their current job or switch to a new one while 21% said they would stay in their current job. The desire to change jobs was highlighted in lower-paid respondents.

The survey was conducted in 12 Alma Career countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Czech Republic and Estonia.