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NB: the figures in this article have been modified following recalculations on 15/7/2022.
Managers are also struggling with their purchasing power
In its 10th barometer on the mental health of the French, Empreinte Humaine x OpinionWay reveal that the question of purchasing power weighs on the psychological health of employees. 6 out of 10 employees admit having difficulty making ends meet financially “Sometimes”, “often” or “all the time” and these have a psychological distress rate of 56%.
We asked OpinionWay to break down some results by salary level. And the verdict is final: executives are also not spared from purchasing power issues. Despite a median salary of 51,000 euros gross per year (half earns above, the other half below), 13% of employees experiencing salary difficulties are executives earning more than 3,000 euros per month.
Difficulties making ends meet or difficulties maintaining a standard of living that they consider decent? Everyone will make their own judgement. This is a survey and the executives interviewed by OpinionWay expressed their feelings. Whether this feeling is “fair” or off the mark, once again, everyone is free to form their own opinion after reading this information.
Executives go into debt so as not to be in the red
According to this barometer, 6 out of 10 employees use credit sometimes/often/always to make ends meet, among which 13% are executives earning more than 3000 euros per month.
It is for this reason, among other things, that start-ups have emerged offering apps that make it easier to obtain a down payment on salary, such as Rosaly or Stairwage. Their leaders see as many demands for executives as for other employees. Which is a sign of loss of purchasing power of executives.
Arbia Smiti
“We are also starting to enter insurance companies, software publishers… which employ a majority of executives. Installments represent on average 10 to 13% of the salary amount. We arrive on average at three requests per month per user”, notes Arbia Smiti, CEO and founder of Rosaly. Rather at the end of the month or the first week, when the levies (rent, bills, credit, etc.) fall.
Yann Le Floc’h
These “picking” operations, which consist in asking for a deposit corresponding only to what you need, are in fact a fine management of your salary. Depending on the case, this is used to book train seats, to pay deposits for holiday accommodation but also to pay for refueling.
Yann Le Floc’h, CEO and co-founder of Stairwage.
Testimony of a manager who has a second job in addition to her salaried job
In the process of divorce, Séverine * (38 years old) finds herself alone with 3 young children in her care (and in private school) and rent to pay. His 5,000 euros in net income as a doctor in a university in the Ile-de-France region is no longer enough for him to take on everything. So in the evening, once her three children are asleep, she puts on her general practitioner cap to ensure teleconsultations on a dedicated platform. And this, until 11 p.m., for 6 or 8 hours a week.
“This dual activity allows you to breathe and stop counting constantly. Not to deprive the children of their life before and above all to face all the costs inherent in the current divorce. I also have to anticipate the fact that the payment of alimony by my future ex-husband is very random”, she says. Séverine still prefers “to kill oneself” to the task than tapping into his savings. “The savings, I keep it for the purchase of a next apartment. It will serve as a contribution to the bank., she adds. Likewise, she does not plan to ask her family for a little financial help, even one-off. “I will always feel indebted “, she assures. So, she (re)work in the evening
*Name has been changed.
Testimony of an executive who “airbnbises” his apartment
After deduction at source, Serge* receives 4,000 euros net of salary each month. But with 2,000 euros in rent (including charges), this 50-year-old marketing manager is struggling to make ends meet. To be able to continue to live in his nice Parisian apartment, where he lived with his ex-girlfriend, he rents it on Airbnb when his daughter is in joint custody with her mother and during the holidays. In total, he recovers between 800 and 1000 euros of rental income per month. “What to compensate for the part of the rent previously paid by my ex”, he says. When he airbnbs his apartment, he goes back to live with his parents. “It’s not always easy, but they’re old and not in very good shape. So I spend more time with them. Privileged moments, she summarizes. And to those who would like to encourage him to leave his Parisian cocoon for another farther from the capital and therefore cheaper, he replies: “I’m comfortable in this accommodation, I have lots of friends in the neighborhood, it’s essential for me. In the name of what, would they demand that I leave? Am I not making enough money? So what? If I find a way to earn more, there is no longer a problem”. And that’s how for 10 months, Serge manages to generate additional income.
*Name has been changed to preserve anonymity.
A small minority of executives fear falling into poverty
We do not expect such statements from managers given the salary levels in this category of employees. However, wave T10 of the Human Footprint barometer reveals that a small proportion of employees affected by downgrading anxiety are executives (11%). Unsurprisingly, only 2% fear poverty when they earn more than 5,000 euros per month.