UK workers are less optimistic about pay than their counterparts in the Eurozone, with most expecting to receive below-inflation settlements, research has suggested.

Seventy per cent of UK workers are expecting to be hit with a real-terms pay cut in the coming year, compared to 55 per cent in Eurozone countries, found the NorthgateArinso 2012 Global Pay Optimism Index. Europe as a whole was more pessimistic than employees in the rest of the world, where the average was 45 per cent.

Workers in the Asia Pacific region were the most optimistic group, with 37 per cent expecting to be rewarded above inflation, drawfing the 8 per cent who said the same in the UK.

“For 2012, pay optimism is centred around Asia Pacific with the ‘realists’ in the UK as well as the wider Eurozone having low expectations,” said Alex Kemp, chief operating officer of NorthgateArinso. “With many businesses across the world still stretched to provide pay rises, business leaders should be asking about other ways to make sure that their talent feels valued. After pay, relatively low cost initiatives such as flexible working are hugely prized by employees and these are changes that companies can easily make to show how they value workers.”

C-suite executives were the most optimistic about their pay prospects while consultants were the most pessimistic, the survey of 1300 people in 21 countries found.

Meanwhile, almost a third (29 per cent) of respondents admitted that the recession has caused them to stay in their job longer than they might have liked, underlining the importance for employers of promoting staff loyalty through the reward package.