Job-seeking hits two-year high as employee satisfaction plummets

Nearly a quarter of employees (24%) are job-seeking, while job satisfaction in the UK has dropped to its lowest level for over two years.

This is according to the latest report from the professional body for HR and people development, the CIPD, in partnership with Halogen. In addition, almost a third (31%) say they come home from work exhausted either often (24%) or always (7%).

Meanwhile, managers score highly on employee support but need to be more active on progression.

These findings were released last week in the CIPD/Halogen Spring Employee Outlook report, which surveyed over 2,000 UK employees in February and March 2016.

It found that job satisfaction has fallen across all sectors, but particularly in the private sector. Employees in micro businesses have the highest levels of job satisfaction by size of organisation.

On a brighter note, the survey also found that more employees are satisfied (41%) than dissatisfied (36%) with their current level of pay, and are more likely to say that work makes them feel ‘cheerful’ (24%), most or all of the time as opposed to any other feeling. This is followed jointly by ‘optimistic’ and ‘stressed’, with 18% respectively saying work makes them feel this way most or all of the time.

The CIPD believes that although global economic uncertainty has likely shaken the labour market, the world of work is changing too, and organisations therefore need to rethink their approach to employee career management in order to engage and retain staff.

Claire McCartney, the CIPD’s Research Adviser for resourcing and talent planning, commented on the findings: “Organisations therefore need to redefine their approach to careers in the light of this new context in order to future-proof their workforce. They need to think about career growth in a more holistic way, rather than traditional, hierarchical progression, and instead give employees opportunities for a breadth of diverse experiences and opportunities that maximise their skills and their employability going forward.”

John Salt, Group Sales Director for totaljobs, said: ““It is interesting to see that despite economic growth and low unemployment rates, job satisfaction amongst employees is actually decreasing. In fact, totaljobs’ research with The Boston Consulting Group found that the three most important factors for job satisfaction were appreciation for good work, strong relationships with colleagues and a work-life balance – all more important than salary. To improve employee satisfaction and retention levels, employers need to foster a positive working environment and company culture, for example through offering flexible working, tailored employee benefits or regular training and career development opportunities, to help create a healthy, happy workplace.”