The economic downturn has adversely affected workplaces yet job satisfaction has improved, three-quarters of UK managers have said.
The latest Workplace Employment Relations Study, co-sponsored by Acas, showed a third of employees had suffered a cut or freeze in wages, while the same proportion had suffered increased workload.
However, job satisfaction has improved since 2004 - when the last survey was undertaken - except for job security which fell by five percentage points.
According to the study, manager-employee engagement had improved with managers now more likely to hold team briefings to keep staff informed about changes at work - up from 60% to 66%.
And managers are also more likely to provide employees with more information on workplace finance, which also saw a 6% increase up from 55% to 61%, the study showed.
Employment relations minister Jo Swinson said: "We are going through one of the most challenging periods in our economic history and businesses and employees have had to adapt rapidly in order to deal with the many pressures that it brings.
"Engagement of employees is key to building stronger workforces which will in turn drive economic growth. This is why the government is supporting such excellent initiatives as Engage for Success where top companies are coming together to share best practice and promote employee engagement."
She added workers and businesses were changing and the findings would be used to develop future government thinking and practice and stimulate debate.
The survey represented 750,000 workplaces and 23.3m employees and alongside Acas is sponsored by four other firms.
The study also revealed that levels of job autonomy had increased with the report authors suggesting it had counterbalanced the increasing intensity of work and led, in part, to the rise in satisfaction.
Other improvements identified by the study included better manager communication and an increase in the number of employees given off-the-job training.
