The fattening pay packets for chief executive officers seem to be bothering the nerves of corporate rank and file worldwide.

About one-third of executives have expressed concern over the compensation for their respective CEOs, reveals a new survey.

According to talent management solutions firm Korn/Ferry International, 34 per cent of executives surveyed expressed at least some concern regarding the salary for the CEOs.

The figure is much higher as compared to the last year's survey, in which 21 per cent of executives felt their CEOs were overcompensated.

These are the results of the latest executive quiz conducted in March by Korn/Ferry International, in which executives from more than 50 countries participated.

The executives surveyed are registered within the firm's online executive centre, ekornferry.com.

Moreover, four out of five executives (80 per cent) indicated that shareholders should have at least some say on pay of their company's executives.

When asked if they felt their CEOs' compensation directly reflected a company's performance, more than 55 per cent of the respondents indicated that it does not reflect or is only somewhat reflective of the organisations' results.

However, about 42 per cent executives felt that their CEOs' compensation was in line with company's performance.

The tumultuous economic environment highlights the challenges with getting pay for performance right, Managing Director of Korn/Ferrys Executive Compensation Advisers Russell Miller said in a statement.

The business community continues to focus on aligning pay and performance, and companies are having mixed success against this objective, Miller added.