By Ross Kerber

(Reuters). – A poll shows that a majority of American adults believe CEO compensation is excessively high. It presents a challenge to corporate boards trying to strike a fair balance for workers and leaders.

According to Just Capital, an organization that focuses on stakeholder research and polling, 81% of Democrats and 71% among Republicans said CEOs at the biggest American corporations were being paid too much in a February survey.

Alison Omens (Just’s chief strategist officer) stated that “the story of this is truly nonpartisan. People across all levels feel like CEOs and frontline workers are underpaid relative to top-ranking employees.”

In an interview, she stated that CEO compensation should be set by boards.

Previous polls also showed public dissatisfaction at high executive salaries, however the politics of that breakdown has not been explored.

Equilar also conducted an April separate study and discovered that median CEO salaries rose 31% from $23 million to $20 million. The data was collected through proxy applications.

Just Capital polled using different numbers, including one that looked at Russell 1000 companies. This revealed a ratio of CEO to worker of 235-1. There was widespread concern about the gap and it could lead to social problems.

For example, 81% of respondents said that large corporations should provide security for their workers at the lowest wages. Only 19% disagreed.

Although tight labor markets have helped workers earn more, rising inflation has eroded many gains. Omens indicated that it is less likely than ever that rising inflation and the COVID-19 epidemic will lead to greater equity in pay.