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UK – Research shows nearly half of UK’s workforce will be looking for new jobs in 2016

05 February 2016

According to a Jobs Exodus Trends 2016 Report by Investors in People, 49% of the UK workforce will be looking for new jobs in 2016.

 The report reveals that one in five employees across the country are complaining of high workloads (19%), nearly a quarter are concerned by a lack of career progression (23%) and over a quarter are unhappy with their levels of pay (27%), prompting a potential mass exodus.

 Moreover, nearly a third of employees say they are miserable in their jobs – due to a combination of poor management (43%) and not feeling valued (39%). The third reason was unsatisfactory salary (38%). However, the report shows that getting a payrise would not solve the problem of being badly managed or feeling undervalued.

 “Improved salaries over recent months means that pay is less of a gripe for UK workers,” Paul Devoy, Head of Investors for Investors in People said. “But longstanding issues around poor management and how valued people feel in their work continue to make UK workers miserable.   If employers addressed these factors, they would have a more committed workforce and far fewer resources tied up in constant recruitment drives.”

The survey asked respondents to choose between two scenarios – a 3% payrise, in line with recent UK increases, or a different non-remuneration benefit. The results showed that 34% of employees said they would prefer a more flexible approach to working hours than a 3% payrise. Meanwhile, nearly 28% said they would rather have a clear career progression route and a 24% would prefer that their employer invest in their training and development.

When asked what one thing their employer could do to increase their happiness in their current role, 13% just wanted to be told ‘thank you’ more, 9% would prefer more flexible working hours and 6% simply wanted more clarity on what their career progression options are.

Career progression was of particular concern to younger workers with 26% of 18-24 year olds said they felt they had no clear career progression in their current role.

“Feeling valued, understanding their role in the organisation and how they can grow with an organisation are all big concerns for UK workers,” Devoy said. “Saying thank you, involving employees in decisions and giving them responsibility over their work are basic ways to make staff happier, and more likely to stay.  Employers also win, with a more committed workforce, higher retention and a clearer view of the future.”