Singapore workers’ expectations for pay raises in the coming year have surged, with 56 per cent of them anticipating getting a salary increase this year and 48 per cent expecting a bonus, according to a recent report by workforce management solution provider ADP.

The ADP Research Institute’s People at Work 2023: A Global Workforce View Report reveals that salary and monetary compensation are high on employees’ priorities in Singapore. Among the countries surveyed in the Asia Pacific region (India, China, Singapore, Australia), Singapore workers are the only employees who consider salary to be their most important priority, at 69 per cent. This percentage is over and above job security considerations, which are the next highest priority for Singaporean workers at 41 per cent.  

Furthermore, almost half of Singapore workers (45 per cent) feel that they are underpaid in their  current roles and over half (52 per cent) are not satisfied with their salary. 

Yvonne Teo, Vice President of HR, APAC, ADP said employers have a difficult task weighing the clamour for higher pay against their own challenges around rising costs and tightening profit  margins. Workers are generally confident that they will get a pay rise from their current company or be able to secure one by moving jobs. The implications for talent acquisition and retention are  substantial.

“As the cost of living soars, workers across lower and middle-income bands have found that their disposable incomes have been severely hit, and even some higher earners are feeling the pinch.  Spending on essentials, let alone luxuries, is being tightly squeezed as workers grapple with soaring  energy bills, rising rents, increasing interest rates and escalating food bills. Even if inflation has  peaked, it looks like it will take some time to return to more comfortable levels,” Teo said .

“Employers who aren’t in a financial position to offer decent pay rises may have to think creatively  about how to appease staff in other ways, such as via offering greater flexibility or other benefits.”