Study says financial employee confidence is rising

During the second quarter, employee confidence rose among accounting and finance employees, including those in administrative and clerical jobs, according to a survey released on July 22 by the Mergis Group. Employees' confidence jumped 5.7 percentage points, to 48 percent from 42.3 percent in the previous quarter.

The turnaround in confidence was driven by fewer workers believing that the economy is getting weaker, and even though 36 percent still believe the economy is getting weaker, that number is down 27 percentage points from the first quarter, the survey said.

“Although this is certainly welcoming news, given the volatility we have seen in our Accounting and Finance Employee Confidence Index and the job market over the past few quarters, it is still too early to positively determine if this uptick in confidence will persist,” said Brendan Courtney, Mergis Group president.

Administrative and clerical workers also were upbeat, with the confidence index jumping 6.9 percent in the second quarter. The survey found 44 percent of those workers believe the economy is getting weaker, but that’s down 24 percentage points from the first quarter.

The survey also found that 73 percent of administrative and clerical workers believe there are fewer jobs available, down from 85 percent in the first quarter. Thirty percent were not confident of their ability to find a job, down 7 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, employee morale at small businesses also improved during the second quarter, according to a survey released Tuesday by TriNet Group Inc. The company’s quarterly HR Trends Survey found that more than 75 percent of small business leaders felt their employees’ morale had improved or at least was steady during the quarter, while 24 percent thought morale had gone down.

Company culture and reputation was the biggest factor that held morale together, according to 36 percent of respondents. Other factors included flexibility, a good balance between work and life, and job security. More than 250 small-business leaders responded to the survey.