July 2011
Featured in this insight: Public health & wellbeing
Recession blues – survey finds rise in UK employee dissatisfaction: According to the latest ‘What’s Working’ survey of 2,400 UK employees in over 1,000 private sector organisations, there has been a marked decline in commitment and job satisfaction amongst Britons since 2006, when the study was last conducted.
Over half of the British workers surveyed are unhappy at work, and over a third are seriously considering leaving their jobs.
Senior managers were found to be most likely to be secretly job hunting at 53%, with middle management surveyants at 41%. Of those discontented with their jobs, the study found the 25-34 age group to be highest.
UK Head of Human Capital at Mercer, Chris Johnson, commented on the current trend: “During the recession, many employees have faced a mix of pay freezes, training and benefit cuts, and limited promotion opportunities – and have often absorbed extra workloads due to redundancy programmes... Many are still feeling vulnerable and generally unhappy with their lot.”
He added: “Overall, what we’re seeing is a general malaise in the workplace. This apathy and disengagement at work can undermine business performance – especially in a post-recession period when companies need commitment from their workforce and energy to drive business growth.”
View more of our sector specific insights: Public health & wellbeing
