Workers less satisfied with pay and promotion prospects

Workers in the Netherlands were again less satisfied with their earnings and their prospects of promotion in 2004 than in 2003. Men were more satisfied on both aspects than women, but the differences between the sexes has diminished in recent years. Working under pressure has fallen steadily since 1999. VDU work has increased since 1997, especially among older workers, according to the latest figures on working conditions from Statistics Netherlands.

Men more satisfied with pay

In 2004 67 percent of workers were satisfied with their earnings. In 2002 this was still 71 percent of workers. This is the second year in a row that satisfaction dropped, whereas it had risen in the previous years.More men than women report being happy with what they earn. In 20044 69 percent of men and 64 percent of women were satisfied with their wages. The differences between men and women have become smaller in recent years. Young people starting out on the labour market were less satisfied with their salary than those aged over 45.

Men more positive about promotion prospects

More than one third of workers were satisfied with their prospects of promotion in 2004. Again this is a slight decrease compared with one year previously. The share of workers satisfied with the chance for promotion was still higher than the end of the nineties.

Men were more positive about their prospects than women. In 2004 39 percent of men were positive about their promotion prospects compared with 31 percent of women. The differences between men and women have become smaller here, too, in the course of the years.

Working under pressure continues to fall

The share of workers who have to work under pressure of time has decreased steadily since 1999. In 2004 one quarter of the employed labour force regularly worked against the clock, five years previously this was still one third of workers. Another aspect of pressure of work is working at a high rate of output. In 2004 41 percent of workers had to keep up a fast pace. This percentage has hardly changed since 1997.

Nearly half of workers use a VDU

In 2004 47 percent of the employed labour force regular worked at a computer screen. This is an increase of 6 percent points on 1997. More than half of 25-44 year-olds regularly worked at a computer in 2004. For young people aged up to 25 VDU work was much less frequent: 27 percent use a computer regularly. This age group includes many lower-skilled workers, who use computers relatively rarely. The largest increase in VDU work was reported for older workers aged between 45 and 64 years: from 38 percent in 1997 to 46 percent in 2004.

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