‘Over a third of UK workforce unhappy’ – why?
We recently wrote about the shocking statistics on the number of people looking for work, over half of the workforce, ‘Who wants to have their cake and eat it!’
We considered the various factors that have caused this, but one that clearly stands out is career satisfaction. According to CV library’s recent survey of 1,200 professionals that looked into the overall career satisfaction of UK workers, which revealed that over a third (39.9%) of the nation’s professionals are unhappy in their current roles; with 97% of those unhappy currently seeking a new job. Does this resonate with you and your company?
If I were cynical, I’d say this is great news for recruitment industry – a buoyant and active job market; but what a sad state of affairs for us as a working nation. So, what are the main factors contributing to this underlying unhappiness with work? Looking at the careers below – there is no common theme across they type of job, so as employers what are we missing?
According to CV library, a recent survey unveils the careers below have the lowest job satisfaction:
1. Marketing – 57.1%
2. Legal – 54.5%
3. Hospitality – 53.3%
4. Accounting – 50%
5. IT – 50%
6. Recruitment – 46.2%
7. Engineering – 44.8%
8. Charity – 43.8%
9. Agriculture – 42.9%
10. Retail – 42.1%
One contributing factor to this sense of dissatisfaction must be the underlying sense of paranoia there seems to be – as according to an employment study from Adzuna, ‘two out of five workers believe they are paid less than their colleagues for doing the same job’. (Sky)
So, how do we address this low level of job satisfaction and what can we do to make employees happier? It’s so important to have a happy workforce, not just for their personal well being, but for the well being of the company as well. The University of Warwick did a study revealing that happy and engaged staff are 12% more productive, while unhappy staff are 10% less productive. This all contributes to the bottom line!
A US survey looked at the contributing factors to job satisfaction, this is what they found:
Top 10 Contributors to Employee Job Satisfaction
Employees identified these factors as their top 10 most important contributors to their job satisfaction.
• Respectful treatment of employees ranked first (67%) on the list of job satisfaction aspects that contribute to overall employee satisfaction.
• Compensation and pay ranked second (63%).
• Overall benefits were third (60%).
• Job security which ranked first for employees during earlier surveys had sunk to fourth (58%) possibly because economic times have improved.
• Trust between employees and senior management (55%) tied with:
• Opportunities to use skills and abilities in your work (55%).
• Financial stability of the organization (53%) remains important to employee satisfaction and is tied with:
• The employee’s relationship with his or her immediate supervisor (53%).
• Feeling safe in your work environment (50%) as manifested in feeling physically safe, with employers taking measures to prevent violence in the workplace and acts of terrorism.
• Immediate supervisor’s respect for your ideas (49%).
Ranked 11-20 on the survey:
the work itself (it is interesting, challenging, exciting, etc.) (48%), management’s recognition of employee job performance (feedback, incentives, rewards) (48%), communication between employees and senior management (48%), career advancement opportunities within the organization (47%), autonomy and independence to make decisions (46%), management’s communication of organization’s goals and strategies (45%), overall corporate culture (e.g., organization’s reputation, work ethics, values, working conditions) (44%), teamwork within department/business unit (43%), meaningfulness of the job (understanding how your job contributes to organization’s mission) (42%) and job-specific training (42%).
Source: TheBalance.com
On the flip side, who are the happiest workers amongst us? We’ll look at this next time!
