Also, in developed countries labor unions shoulder the responsibility of ensuring that employees get the right pay and/or increment every year. The non-existence of such a system in China, lack of a mature pay system and employees' hesitation in seeking a raise are factors that make a big difference, Yi says.

But survey results give an idea why so many people hesitate to ask for a raise or are uncertain of their self-evaluation. Only 8.5 percent of those who sought an increment were rewarded, with 40.2 percent not seeing any change or even getting a negative response from their bosses.

Head of a leading English language training institute in Nanjing Yang Hong says the performance of her employees last year would determine whether they'd get a raise this year. "A good salary system doesn't necessarily mean egalitarianism, instead it should grant strong incentives to outstanding employees," says institute head in the capital of East China's Jiangsu Province. "Therefore, I suggest all those who want a raise think twice before coming to me," unless they performed exceptionally last year.

Human resources experts advise people who want a pay raise to ask for extra work and responsibility. This way people can make their employers see their performance. Another positive approach, they say, is to ask for a performance-related bonus.

But above all, an employee should have a thorough understanding of his company's salary system before seeking an increment because many Chinese firms adopt a slow salary rise strategy. The survey shows that 67.4 per cent of the firms choose to raise pay by up to 10 percent every year. And 24.7 percent of raise it by 10 to 20 percent, with only 7.9 percent hiking it by more than 20 percent.

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