New Title? Not Necessarily: More Bang for the Buck
| Executives' Greatest Anxieties About Job Security | |||
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1997 | 1991 | 1989 |
| Loss of job due to acquisition or merger | 51% | 45% | 54% |
| Burnout | 24% | 12% | 25% |
| Being fired | 10% | 22% | 6% |
| Failed to get promoted | 5% | 5% | 8% |
| Insufficient income to meet living standards and financial obligations | 3% | 9% | 3% |
| Other/Don't know | 7% | 7% | 3% |
A new position or title doesn't guarantee you more pay and may even be a way of sidestepping a salary increase, according to Paul Baard, an associate professor of media, communications and management at Fordham University. Baard says "title inflation" is being used by companies to reward employees so they don't have to dole out the dollars. (Fordham, 212/636-6193)
Mother Nature Apt to Like the: Public More than Congress
Wirthlin Worldwide has just released a survey that shows only 4 percent of legislators would be willing to sacrifice economic growth for environmental quality - a number that's drastically lower than what those in the general public reported to Wirthlin when they were asked the same question this past summer.
A Wirthlin survey conducted in August concluded that 25 percent of Americans would be willing to sacrifice economic growth for environmental quality. But when Wirthlin posed that same question to 151 senior congressional staff members between Sept. 26 and Nov. 12, the results were a stretch away.
So, our word to the wise for those in PR: corporate environmental advocacy might go over better in the consumer realm than in the court of political naysayers. (Wirthlin, 703/556-0001)
Middle Manager to Employee: 'I'll Explain the Initiative'
For those grappling with employee communications, sink your teeth into this: despite all the buzz about corporations attempting to better relate to employees, you may be missing the mark if your middle managers aren't voicing changes directly to employees.
The final section of the "Corporate Communications 1997 study," Edelman, Opinion Research Corp. and Medill School of Journalism, shows that employee communications programs are more effective when mid-level managers and supervisors are involved in the process. But 70 percent of survey respondents at 100 major corporations in the U.S. indicate minimal involvement by this group. (Edelman, 312/240-2685)
The Unwritten Script of M&As: Execs Fear Job Loss
This era of mergers and acquisitions may have led to some opportunities, but it's also led to some nights of worry for executives.
A survey by Robert Half International Inc. (see chart below) shows that losing a job was the key concern for executives who must weather mergers and acquisitions. Loss of a job due to an acquisition or merger was cited as a greater anxiety than being fired or having insufficient income. (Robert Half Int'l., 650/234-6000)