Canadian employees are optimistic about several key aspects of their work life in 2012, and a solid majority anticipate they will have more disposable income this year than in 2011.

According to a survey workers in 29 countries from global staffing and recruiting firm Randstad, 62% of Canada’s employees believe 2012 will be a better year financially for their organization.

Australian (61%) and U.S. (64%) employees rank similarly, while employees from Argentina (93%) and Chile (96%) have exceptionally positive expectations for their organization.

On the other side of the scale, employees in the United Kingdom (55%), Czech Republic (60%), France (54%), Greece (74%), Hungary (69%), Japan (64%) and the Netherlands (53%), have strong expectations that 2012 will prove to be to be a difficult year for their organization financially.

Additionally, three out of five (58%) Canadian employees expect their salaries to rise at the end of the year, and the same amount of employees anticipate they will have more disposable income in 2012 than in 2011.

Despite the positive salary expectations, only 47% of Canadian employees think their employee benefits will improve this year and just 43% expect to receive a yearly bonus.

In other parts of the world, especially outside of Europe, financial expectations for 2012 are high. More than 80% of employees in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, India and Mexico expect to receive a pay raise, bonus or improvement in employee benefits. European employees have lower expectations; around one third or less expect to see any improvements in these areas.

“While 2011 was a better year than the few years before it, many people and many organizations still endured many challenges,” explains Jan Hein Bax, president, Randstad Canada. “Canadians remain cautious when it comes to their expectations of improved benefits and bonuses, likely an after-effect of the uncertain economic times the country has experienced. The good news is that many Canadians are looking ahead to 2012 through positive eyes and are optimistic about what the future holds.”

Comparatively, when looking back at 2011, 60% of Canadian workers say last year was a good year for their organization, while only 39% report 2011 as a difficult year for their company.

The Randstad Workmonitor survey, published quarterly, covers 29 countries around the world, encompassing Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas.