58% Of Workers Believe Their Boss Has The Upper Hand

Are power dynamics shifting back to business leaders?

According to a new poll conducted by Harris Poll for Bloomberg, 58% of workers believe their boss has the upper hand in the workplace, a 5% increase from levels seen in January.   

Prior to this shift, the labor shortage allowed workers to hold higher ground in terms of what they desired in the workplace. As a result, companies desperate to fill in positions (sometimes hesitantly) obliged to their demands.   

However, the Great Resignation and unemployment have loosened their grip on today’s workforce, giving employers a new sense of power after years of playing tug of war. 

Even though workers are valid in requesting improvements in their workplace experience, the survey showed that 59% of respondents are uncomfortable asking for a raise. 

“It’s a little bit of a game of chicken,” said John Gerzema, CEO of Harris Poll.  

“The calculus is, I either want to lock in greater pay right now by asking for a raise or moving to another job to get a raise. However, being worried about a recession, I’m now also consciously thinking about my job security.” 

The looming recession has jolted employees back into a state of submissiveness. With companies like Ford, Tesla, Twitter and Uber conducting mass layoffs, workers are understandably fearful of losing their jobs. 

In fact, another survey from Insight Global showed that around 80% of workers are worried about their jobs, while a whopping 87% of managers said layoffs were “likely” if a recession happens.  

Still, the Harris poll showed that 60% of workers are confident they could find a job with higher pay.