5134 employee outlook year review

8/4/2019 5134 Employee Outlook Year Review

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Survey reportSummer 2010

Employee outlook

Year review


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This report has been analysed and written by the Public Sector

Consulting Team at YouGov.


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Contents

Foreword: setting the context 2

Introduction 4

Key findings 5

1 Job pressure, workload and control 7

2 Job satisfaction 11

3 Job security 16

4 Worklife balance 19

5 Attitudes to senior management 21

6 Job-seeking 27

Conclusions 32

Employee outlook: Year review 1


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Foreword: setting the context

This report brings together findings from the CIPDs

quarterly Employee Outlooksurveys from May 2009 to

February 2010, providing a narrative on how working life

and employee perceptions have been shaped by the

dramatic events over the year.

The report is aimed at HR, senior managers and line

managers in both public and private sector organisations,

as well as policy-makers all concerned with UK

organisation productivity and performance.

We believe the timing of this 2009/10 report is particularly

helpful because we can draw trend data, evidence and

learning from private sector uncertainty over the past

year, which can now be usefully applied to the mounting

public sector challenges and seismic changes that will be

experienced for many months to come.

From an economic and employment perspective, the last

12 months have witnessed a huge amount of uncertainty

and change. In March 2009 there was much concern

over the health of the financial system and the world

economy, with many countries in recession.

Unemployment was climbing in most developed

economies, with the CIPD predicting that it would peak

at 3 million in the UK. Over the next six months there

was a dramatic stock market recovery as governments

around the world pumped unprecedented amounts of

money into the financial system and subsequently therewas a gradual return to economic growth in the US and

most parts of Europe. The UK finally crept out of

recession in the last quarter of 2009. Rising

unemployment also started to level out in the second

half of 2009 in the US and some parts of Europe,

including the UK, with the CIPDs forecast on peak

unemployment revised down to 2.8 million.

However, there has been a lack of sustained confidence

in a robust world recovery, with some economists

predicting a double-dip recession as governments start to

try to cut their deficits and reduce public spending. In our

most recent quarterly surveys, we are clearly seeing a

shift from private sector uncertainty to public sector

difficulties with deterioration in public sector job

satisfaction, job security, pay and perceptions of senior

leaders. This again reinforces the importance of public

sector employers learning from private sector

experiences.

So, what are the key findings?

Against this turbulent backdrop it is not surprising that

there have been some significant shifts in employee

attitudes towards their work, their management and

their organisation.

A key trend has been falling job satisfaction over the four

quarters, as well as a gradual increase in pressure at

work. There has also been an increase in dissatisfaction

with senior managers, particularly in terms of trust and

the extent to which they consult employees over

important decisions. In fact, perceptions of both senior

and line managers are shown to be particularly important

and closely linked to employees job satisfaction.

In addition, the data already starts to show how

redundancies and job security concerns have spread from

the private sector to the public sector over the last 12

months.

Why should employers be interested in thesefindings and what can they do to respond to

current and future challenges?

It is always important for employers to be aware of

employee perceptions and issues that might be impacting

upon their well-being and productivity. However, we feel

in this particularly uncertain climate it is even more

crucial.

This research highlights the importance of strong and

consultative leadership, good people management and

engagement themes that run throughout numerous

CIPD research streams.

Employee outlook: Year review2


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Our talent insights, exploring the importance of talent

management in difficult times, emphasise the need for

leaders who can lead and motivate in the good and bad

times and the importance of values-based and ethical

leadership. Furthermore, our Next Generation HR researchclearly spells out that we must also ensure through our

talent activities that we are building leadership for the

organisation challenges of tomorrow, not just replicating

todays team more efficiently.

It is also important to mention the parallels with our

longitudinal Shaping the Future research, where enablers

of sustainable organisation performance link to the

themes of leadership, engagement and organisation

development. Some of the broader insights around the

importance of creating shared purpose, harnessing

employees locus of engagement and developing, where

appropriate, distributed leadership also build upon this

reports findings.

Our series on building productive public sector

workplaces and, in particular, our latest paper on

developing positive employee engagement and employee

relations also support the messages in this research.

CIPD research into employee engagement and the recent

government-commissioned MacLeod review highlight the

link between increases in employee engagement and

business performance. Engaged employees take less time

off sick, are less likely to quit and are more likely to

recommend their organisation as a good place to work. It

is in employers (and the Governments) interest to

understand what is happening on the ground in the

workplace because only then can they identify potential

obstacles and opportunities for improving employee

engagement and, ultimately, productivity. Clearly, with

impending public sector cuts, developing high

engagement and productivity are more important than

ever for public sector employers and, more widely, the UK

economy.



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Introduction

This report is aimed at HR professionals, senior

management and line managers with a keen interest

in the UK workforce, key aspects of working life and

how employees perceptions have been shaped by the

economic climate.

It is also likely to be of interest to policy-makers trying

to understand the changing employee reality of work

to help them develop public policy responses to

improve employment practice, employee engagement

and well-being and, ultimately, productivity.

On behalf of the CIPD, YouGov undertook a quarterly

tracking study in 2009 the surveys were conducted

online using the YouGov Plc panel of over 280,000

individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys.

Every quarter a representative sample of over 2,000

UK employees were surveyed and the data was

benchmarked by sector (that is, private, public,

voluntary), business type (standard industrial

classifications), region and size of organisation.

The study covered issues concerning the impact of the

recession, the extent to which employees felt

consulted on key decisions, their level of engagement

with the strategic objectives of their employer and

their satisfaction with their current job. In addition to

this, each survey had topical questions. Four surveyswere undertaken in 2009:

spring fieldwork carried out 2025 February2009

summer fieldwork carried out 1723 June 2009 autumn fieldwork carried out 29 September

7 October 2009

winter fieldwork carried out 1421 December2009.

Within this report each survey is referred to by the

season in which it was conducted (as shown above).

As mentioned earlier, topical questions ran

throughout the year, therefore not all questions could

be analysed over the year where this is the case it is

made clear in the report.

The report begins by providing an overview of key

findings from each section and then goes on to

examine attitudes and feelings towards work, starting

with job pressure, workload and sense of control over

the job.

The next two sections look at job satisfaction and job

security throughout the year and review how this

changed during 2009. Section 4 looks at worklife

balance among UK employees and section 5 examines

the UK workforces feelings towards senior

management. Finally, section 6 looks at the job-

seeking plans of UK employees and how this has

changed over the course of the year.

The report concludes by taking an overview of

working life in 2009 and the resulting implications for

employers and interested parties.



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Key findings

This section of the report highlights the key findings

from each section.

Attitudes and feelings towards work

The proportion of employees feeling under excessive

pressure either every day or once or twice a week has

increased over the year. Public sector employees were

most likely to say they were under excessive pressure,

followed by those in the private and the voluntary

sector. Those reporting that they are most frequently

under excessive pressure at work are less likely to

express satisfaction with their job.

Levels of workload remained fairly consistent over the

year, with the majority of UK employees stating their

workload was about right. Public sector employees were

more likely than those in the private sector to report that

their workload was too much, with voluntary sector staff

least likely to say this. However, private sector employees

were significantly more likely to feel in control of their job

than public sector employees.

Job satisfaction

Overall job satisfaction declined during the course of

2009, with the largest fall occurring between summer

and autumn.

Voluntary sector employees are the only group forwhom satisfaction was higher at the end of the year

compared with the start, despite fluctuations during the

intermittent seasons.

Experiencing excessive pressure at work at least once or

twice a week and redundancies are closely related and

both lead to a decrease in job satisfaction. Employees

who are satisfied with their job are consistently more

likely to state that their manager always or usually

consults them than those who are dissatisfied with their

job. The more a manager consults with their staff, the

greater the resulting level of job satisfaction.

The largest driving factors of job satisfaction relate to

providing employees with opportunities to feed views

upwards and making them feel that their work counts.

Job security

There was very little change in the overall proportion of

respondents saying that they were very likely or likely to

lose their job. However, the research shows an erosion

in confidence in job security among public sector

employees. In spring, only 8% of public sector staff

stated that they felt likely or very likely to lose their job.

By winter this figure had almost doubled. This erosion is

only likely to get worse as public sector cost reductions

start to be felt.

Combining the data for the whole year, over two-

thirds of employees in businesses that have made

redundancies do not have any concerns over their job

security.

Worklife balance

Employees classification of their worklife balance

significantly improved over the course of the year, with

figures being at their highest in summer 2009 (61%).

However, there was a decrease in perceived

organisational support for worklife balance. In spring,

36% of UK employees agreed that their organisationprovided them with support to help manage their

worklife balance; by winter this figure had decreased

significantly to 31%.

Loyalty towards organisations

In spring 2009, over three-quarters (76%) of

employees said they had a lot or some loyalty towards

their organisation and a quarter (24%) said they had

no or little loyalty to their organisation. The more

senior the employee, the more loyalty they felt

towards their organisation.



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In autumn, 55% of UK employees said they would be

very likely or likely to recommend their organisation as

an employer. In winter this figure dropped significantly

to 51%.

Senior management

Since spring 2009, the percentage of employees who

disagree that their directors and senior managers

consult them about important decisions has increased

significantly from 48% to 52%.

Confidence and trust in senior managers have generally

been low since spring 2009. However, there is a recurring

pattern throughout the year, in that the smaller the

organisation, the more trust employees have.

The number of employees who feel their manager is

always or usually open and honest has decreased

significantly since spring 2009.

In winter 2009, over a third (36%) of UK employees felt

they received only a limited amount of information and

one in seven said they heard very little information

about what is going on.

Employees working within the voluntary sector seem far

more satisfied with the opportunities provided to them

to voice their issues and ideas upwards than those

working within the private and public sectors.

Job-seeking

The proportion of employees who would ideally like to

change their jobs has increased from 34% in spring

2009 to 37% in winter 2010, peaking during the year

in autumn 2009 at 40%.

Employees aged 18 to 24 seemed more likely to want

to move than other age groups, with 73% indicating

this in winter 2009.

Forty per cent of UK employees who would ideally like

to move within the next year agreed that they are less

trusting of their managers compared with 13% who

would not move.

Those considering moving are just as uncertain about

finding work elsewhere as those who are not

considering moving.

In spring 2009, 39% of UK employees wanting to

change jobs were very optimistic or optimistic about

being able to. This figure dropped significantly to 33%

by winter.



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1 Job pressure, workload and control

This first section of the report looks at how employees

feel about their work are they stressed, what does their

work mean to them and how do they approach it? This

section also looks at how the economic downturn has

affected employees, in particular their workload.

Excessive pressure

A certain level of pressure in the workplace is essential as

it helps people to concentrate and it increases

motivation. However, when the pressure people are

under exceeds their ability to cope, in other words stress,

it becomes a negative rather than a positive force in the

workplace. Stress is linked to conditions such as anxiety

and depression, as well as heart disease. It is also one of

the biggest causes of absence. Stressed people find it

difficult to concentrate or to juggle a number of different

tasks and they are likely to have less patience with work

colleagues, as well as customers and clients. The survey

asked respondents to say how frequently they felt under

excessive pressure at work to provide a benchmark over

the year.

Figure 1: Pressure in the workplace (%)

Winter(n = 2,041)

14 27 24

Autumn(n = 2,057)

13 29

Summer(n = 3,337)

14 27 25

Spring(n = 3,171)

Every day

12 26

Once or twice a month

Never

Base: all UK employees

At a glance, Figure 1 indicates that pressure levels slightly

increased over 2009.

In spring 2009, 38% of UK employees felt under

excessive pressure once or twice a week or more and by

winter this figure had increased to 41%. While we have

identified how the UK workforce as a whole is feeling,

how do the stress levels break down?

The research indicates that levels of pressure varied

among sectors, with public sector employees significantly

more likely than those in the private sector to feel under

excessive pressure every day or once or twice a week. In

spring 2009, 37% of private sector employees said they

felt under excessive pressure every day or once or twice a

week. By winter 2009, this figure increased significantly

to 41% for the private sector, while public sector figures

remained the same.

Among the three sectors, those working within the

voluntary sector seemed to be facing the least

24 12

23 21 13

21 13

26 23 13

Once or twice a week

Less frequently than once a month



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pressure and, similar to public sector employees, the

level of pressure they faced remained fairly consistent

over the year.

There was also an indication that employees working in

large organisations experienced excessive pressure on a

more frequent basis than employees working within

micro or small organisations.

There also seemed to be a significant shift in pressure

faced by younger employees. From autumn 2009, 5% of

1824-year-olds said they felt under excessive pressure

every day in autumn but by winter this figure had

increased to 15%.

Workload and control

Levels of workload remained fairly consistent over 2009,

with the majority of UK employees stating their workload

was about right, as shown in Figure 3.

By winter, one in ten (9%) said their workload was too

little and 29% said it was too much.

Every day Once or twice a week Less than once a month NeverOnce or twice a month

Spring

(n = 2,230)

Summer

(n = 2,223)

r vate sector

12

25

26

23

14

14

26

25

22

13

13

29

23

21

13

14

24

24

23

13

13

31

24

21

10

16

30

25

18

11

15

34

26

17

9

14

30

26

22

8

10

26

29

24

11

8

31

31

17

13

10

22

25

28

16

9

27

23

38

4

u c sector o untary sector

Autumn

(n = 1,464)

Winter

(n = 1,459)

Spring

(n = 713)

Summer

(n = 721)

Autumn

(n = 395)

Winter

(n = 381)

Spring

(n = 221)

Summer

(n = 206)

Autumn

(n = 108)

Winter

(n = 105)

Figure 2: Who is feeling the pressure? (%)

Figure 3: Personal workload (summer to winter 2009) (%)

Too little About right Dont knowToo much

Summer

(n = 3,337)

Autumn

(n = 2,057)

mp oyees

10

61

27

1

10

60

29

1

9

61

29

1

11

36

25

1 1 1 1 1 1 1

11

60 61

28 28 35 36

106

57

8

55

7

54

38

7

55

37

5

70

23

2 2

3

73

22

r vate sector u c sector o untary sector

Winter

(n = 2,041)

Summer

(n = 2,223)

Autumn

(n = 1,464)

Winter

(n = 1,459)

Summer

(n = 721)

Autumn

(n = 395)

Winter

(n = 381)

Summer

(n = 206)

Autumn

(n = 108)

Winter

(n = 105)



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With an increase in pressure over the year, it was perhaps

not surprising that a third of employees (30%) aged

1824 felt their workload was too much. While opinions

were similar among men and women in autumn, bywinter this had changed men were significantly more

likely than women to state that their workload was too

much (32% compared with 26%).

Workload remained fairly similar for those in the private

and public sectors, with shifts seeming far more prevalent

among the voluntary sector from spring to winter the

percentage of employees stating their workload was too

much decreased significantly (37% down to 22%).

There also seemed to be a relationship between length

of service and personal workload the longer an

employee worked for an organisation, the more likely

they were to say that their workload was too much in

winter 2009. A quarter (23%) of employees who had

been with their organisation for up to six months said

their workload was too much, compared with 33% of

employees who had been with their organisation for

more than 20 years.

Similar to workload, the level of control employees felt

they had over the way they do their work remained

consistent over the spring and summer, with the majority

(77%) of UK employees feeling they had a great deal or

fair amount of control.

Private sector employees were significantly more likely to

feel in control of their job than public sector employees;

however, by summer it was those in the voluntary sector

who seemed to feel most in control.

Employees working for smaller organisations seemed to

have more control compared with those working for

larger organisations in summer 2009 48% of UK

employees working in micro businesses stated they had a

great deal of control compared with 17% working in

large businesses.

How worthwhile is my job?

We asked a number of questions to examine this issue.

Figure 5 (on page 10) displays the co-efficient of each

statement showing how closely correlated each factor is

with those who think their job is worthwhile. The

nearer the number to 1, the better the correlation or

association between that item and respondents saying

their job is worthwhile.

Figure 4: Employee control % of employees saying they had a great deal/fair amount of control

All UK employees

Private sector firm or company

Public sector/other

Charity/voluntary sector

8060

77

75

79

77

67

70

77

0 20 40

Percentage

85

100

Summer Spring

Base: All UK employees (spring: n = 3,171; summer: n = 3,337), private sector (spring: n = 2,230;summer: n = 2,223), public sector (spring: n = 713; summer: n = 721), charity/voluntary sector(spring: n = 221; summer: n = 206).



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0.81.0 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Performing my job is so absorbingI forget about everything else.

I stay until the job is done.

I often feel emotionally detachedfrom my job.

I often think about other thingswhen performing my job.

I avoid working my standardhours whenever possible.

The work I do in my job isvery meaningful.

Pearson correlation factor

I get excited when I performwell in my job.

The work I do in my job is very

important to me.

0.3

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.4

0.5

0.7

0.8

Figure 5: A worthwhile job (spring 2009)

We can see that the more likely employees are to agree

that their job is worthwhile, the more likely they are to

think their job is meaningful.

Some factors have a negative correlation, which means

as one increases the other decreases for example,

employees who think their job is worthwhile are more

likely to disagree with the statement that they feel

emotionally detached from their job.

Staying until the job is done had the lowest positive

correlation and avoiding working more than my

standard hours had a negative correlation. Although its

not certain, this could be an indication that whileemployees feel their job is worthwhile, and are willing

to put in extra hours, they dont feel that this needs to

be the norm.

While we have identified many aspects of employee life

and how things make employees feel, the main indicator

for how employees truly feel is their satisfaction. Though

this was touched upon in this section, the next section

will examine job satisfaction in greater detail.



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2 Job satisfaction

In this section we look at job satisfaction and how this

changed during the year. Job satisfaction is important as

it is one of the drivers of employee engagement and is a

good benchmark indicator of employees views towards

their work. We look at the impact that the economic

climate, pressure at work and job security has had on job

satisfaction and the connection between satisfaction and

an employees relationship with their manager.

Trends in job satisfaction

Overall job satisfaction declined significantly during the

course of 2009, with the largest fall occurring between

summer and autumn.

The surveys suggest that if you want the highest level of

job satisfaction, be your own boss. The data have shown

consistently that sole traders have the most job

satisfaction. Despite recording the highest figures in each

60

50

48

40

30

20

10

0Spring

Figure 6 plots net satisfaction scores by season. Net satisfaction scores are calculated by subtracting the percentage who saythey are dissatisfied from the percentage who say they are satisfied. Net scores measure the strength of the direction of feelingand therefore give a more accurate assessment than simple satisfaction scores.

Summer Autumn Winter

46

37 36

Figure 6: Satisfaction with job during 2009 (%)

Table 1: Job satisfaction by business type and sector (net satisfaction scores) (%)

Spring Summer Autumn Winter

Sole trader 71 72 64 61

Micro business 58 60 49 48

Small business 45 46 43 33

Medium business 40 50 37 29

Large business 38 39 26 29

Private sector 46 46 35 34

Public sector 43 45 39 36Third sector 53 60 57 56



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season, satisfaction among sole traders declined during

the course of the year. Employees in large businesses

have the lowest levels of satisfaction, although it

increased slightly during the winter from its autumn low.

Third sector employees are the only group for whom

satisfaction was higher at the end of the year compared

with the start, despite peaking in summer 2009 and

declining slowly over the following seasons.

In later sections it is identified that having your voice

heard is an important factor in job satisfaction

interestingly, voluntary sector employees are more likely

than others to be provided with opportunities to express

their views.

While we have recognised the shifts in job satisfaction

over 2009 and where they occurred, are there any

issues in the wider employment market that could

explain them?

Job satisfaction in the wider context

Figure 7 shows the relationship between job satisfaction

and a number of important variables that place

satisfaction in the context of the pressure people feel,

their worklife balance and redundancies (as a proxy for

the economic climate).

Figure 7 shows that experiencing excessive pressure

at work at least once or twice a week and the

employer making redundancies are closely related. As

both of these lines have risen, the level of job

satisfaction has decreased.

The relationship between job satisfaction and feeling

under excessive pressure at work at least once or

twice a week is also strong, but not as strong as with

redundancies.

Interestingly, analysis of four seasons data does not

produce a significant relationship between job

satisfaction and worklife balance. This would suggest

that respondents do not make a connection between

having an imbalance between work and home life and

overall job satisfaction.

Managers and job satisfaction

Other research by the CIPD has identified two important

ways managers can increase employee engagement. This

includes the extent to which managers consult with their

employees and the openness and honesty of their

manager. These two variables show a good link with job

satisfaction (Figure 8).

Job satisfaction Excessive pressure Has made redundanciesSatisfaction with worklife balance

64

56

38

22

65

61

41

27

58

57

42

29

57

41

59

30

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0Spring Summer Autumn Winter

Base: All UK employees (spring: n = 3,171; summer: n = 3,337; autumn: n = 2,057; winter: n = 2,041)

Figure 7: Relationship between job satisfaction, pressure, worklife balance and whether the organisation hasmade redundancies (%)



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Satisfied with job

Figure 8 shows the proportion that say that their manager always or usually consults with them on matters of importance plotted for those who are satisfied

and dissatisfied with their job.

Base: All UK employees who report to someone (spring: n = 2,562; summer: n = 2,662; autumn: n = 1,703; winter: n = 1,668)

Dissatisfied with job

71

28

70

24

69

31

69

24

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 Spring Summer Autumn Winter

43 46 38 45

Figure 8: Manager consults on important issues by whether satisfied/dissatisfied with current job (%)

Figure 8 shows that those who are satisfied with their job

are consistently more likely to state that their manager

consults with them always or usually than those who are

dissatisfied with their job. For example, of all those who

were satisfied with their job in spring 2009, 71% said

that their manager always or usually consulted with them.

For those who were dissatisfied with their job in spring

2009, the figure was only 28%. This gives a gap

(illustrated by the vertical arrows) of 43 percentage

points. The gap has stayed consistent through the year

and shows that the more a manager consults with their

staff, the greater the resulting level of job satisfaction.

The pattern is similar when looking at the impact of

honesty and openness on job satisfaction, as Figure 9

shows.

Satisfied with job


Dissatisfied with job

78

35

75

31

75

37

72

28

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0Spring Summer Autumn Winter

4344

38

44

Figure 9: Manager is usually/always open and honest by satisfaction with current job (%)



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Figure 9 shows a substantial gap between those who the answer to the question: How satisfied are you with

are satisfied and those who are dissatisfied with their your current job?2

job in relation to the openness and honesty of their

managers. A correlation matrix was then generated which

correlated every question in the survey against

Those who are satisfied are consistently far more likely satisfaction. From this the ten questions with the highestto say that their manager is open and honest than correlation were selected to be used in the model.3

those who are dissatisfied. For example the winter

2009 figure shows that there was a gap of 44 Figure 10 shows the six key drivers of job satisfaction.

percentage points between the proportion of all those The number next to each factor shows its relative

satisfied with their job who stated that their manager importance. The higher the number the more important

is always or usually honest and open with them and the factor is within the model. The most important factor

the corresponding proportion for those who were relates to consultation and the ability for employees to

dissatisfied with their job. feed views upwards on a range of issues that are

important to them. Having your manager treat you as if

Managerial behaviour clearly seems to impact your work counts and treating an employee fairly are

satisfaction, but is job satisfaction purely driven by it or other important factors.

are there other potential key drivers?

What comes across from the model is the extent to

What are the key drivers of job satisfaction? which managers have an important role in shaping an

By undertaking key driver analysis1 it is possible to employees job satisfaction. The factors in the model are

identify the drivers behind job satisfaction. This analysis all things over which managers can have a direct

combines the data from the four surveys throughout the influence. As such the research shows the things that a

year. For the analysis the dependent variable was set as manager can do to increase satisfaction.

0 1.0

0.046

0.061

0.088

0.154

0.182

0.249

2.0 3.0

Satisfied with opportunities tofeed views upwards

Makes me feel my work counts

My manager treats me fairly

I have confidence in senior managers

I trust senior managers

Senior managers treat employeeswith respect

Figure 10 : Key drivers of satisfaction with job

1 Key driver analysis is a statistical technique that identifies the extent to which the results of one question are explained by the responses to other

questions. The analysis involves choosing a dependent variable and identifying independent variables that explain it.

2 The answers to this question were recorded on a five-point scale ranging from very satisfied to very dissatisfied. Those answering dont know were

excluded from the analysis.

3 The model was then run using SPSS. Various iterations of the model were run and the one having the greatest explanatory power was selected. It

should be noted that although ten variables were fed into the analysis, only six are identified as having a statistically significant explanatory power.

The model explains about 40% of the variability in the data. This means that there are factors outside the scope of the survey that have animportant impact on job satisfaction. These factors could be the type of work done, the people around you, whether the job matches the person in

relation to its scope, interest, qualifications and aspirations as well as factors that are individual to the person rather than the job. It should be noted

that pay was not seen to be a statistically significant driver of job satisfaction.



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Figure 11: Drivers of personal job satisfaction (spring 2009)

Amount of variety in job (0.198)

Recognition for good work/hours of work (0.178)

Opportunity to use abilities (0.158)

Freedom of using own method of working (0.133)

Chances of promotion (0.081)

Amount of responsibility

given (0.073)

Job security (0.052)

Job satisfaction on a personal level

By undertaking key driver analysis4 it was possible to look

specifically at personal key drivers behind job satisfaction

(taken only from the spring 2009 data), which included a

number of more detailed questions on job satisfaction.

Figure 11 shows seven personal key drivers of

satisfaction and the number next to each factor shows its

relative importance. The higher the number, the more

important the factor is within the model. The modelshows the importance of variety in relation to work the

more satisfied employees are with the amount of variety

in their job, the more satisfied they are overall. However,

as the model shows it is not limited to this with joint

scores the recognition employees receive for the good

work that they do and the hours they work were also

important in driving satisfaction in spring 2009.

The freedom to choose your own method of working

was also key in driving job satisfaction, as well as

opportunities provided to employees to use their

abilities. Interestingly, among personal drivers, job

security had less of an impact than perhaps would be

expected.

While it cannot be said with certainty, the possibility is

that the impact of the recession had not been felt during

the spring and, as later sections show, employees startedrecognising and feeling the impact of the economic

downturn during the summer and autumn.

With an eventful 2009 and a recession-hit Britain, it is

more important than ever to understand how secure

employees feel. The next section will look into this in

more detail.

4

Key driver analysis is a statistical technique that identifies the extent to which the results of one question are explained by the responses to otherquestions. The analysis involves choosing a dependent variable and identifying independent variables that explain it. The dependent variable was

How satisfied are you with your current job? and the analysis uses data from only spring 2009 with the model explaining about 55% of the

variability in the data.



18/36

3 Job security

In this section we look at job security and the impact of

the economic climate on employees confidence in their

ability to retain their job. This section looks at how

confidence affects different sectors and the relationship

between national unemployment figures and job security.

Trends in job security

During the course of the year there was very little change

in the proportion of respondents saying that they were

very likely or likely to lose their job.

The clear conclusion from Table 2 is the erosion of

confidence among public sector employees. In spring

only 8% stated that they felt likely or very likely to

lose their job. By winter this figure had almost

doubled.

Its interesting to look at how confidence in different

business sectors has been affected by the recession. This

is shown in Table 3.

In Table 3, employee confidence is measured according

to whether the employee thinks that it is unlikely or very

unlikely that they will lose their job. The table shows that

private sector services are starting to edge out of

recession, with a large increase in the confidence of

Table 2: All who stated that it was very likely or likely that they would lose their job as a result of the recession (%)


Private sector 23 19 19 20

Public sector 8 11 12 15

Third sector 16 11 12 18

All UK employees 18 17 17 18

Table 3: Confidence that employee will not lose job due to the recession (%)

Spring Winter Change +/

Manufacturing 32 51 +

Construction 35 36 +

Banking and finance 36 57 +

Wholesale and retail 50 53 +

Hotels and restaurants 41 48 +

Transport/telecoms/post 51 43

Business services 48 44

Education 69 66

Health 71 69

Social and personal services 51 49

Public administration 74 60



19/36

those working in manufacturing and the banking and

finance sector that they will not lose their job.

The years data also shows that confidence has ebbed

away for a number of professions, most notably in thepublic sector. Employee confidence ratings for public

administration show a 14 percentage point fall in

confidence and reflect the economic reality that the

public sector will experience significant cuts in

expenditure over the next few years.

Job security perception versus reality

To what extent are employees concerns matched by

what is happening in the economy? One way to analyse

this is to plot responses to the job security question

against unemployment data for the period immediately

before the survey. In Figure 12, the unemployment rate

is the average rate for the three months prior to the

survey (this data is taken from the Labour Force Survey

and is seasonally adjusted. Monthly data is based on

three month rolling averages).

Figure 12 shows that the unemployment rate climbed

steeply between the spring and autumn waves of the

survey, but the proportion of respondents who said that

they were likely or very likely to lose their job remained

virtually unchanged. One explanation of this could be

that respondents views on job security are influenced

more by what was going on in their own organisation

rather than what is happening in the economy as a

whole. This can be reflected in respondents views about

their future within the context of the recession, as shown

in Figure 13 (on page 18).

Figure 13 shows that worries about the future, feeling

less secure in the job and having concerns about being

made redundant are closely linked and follow the same

trend season by season. Plotted against each factor is a

co-efficient that shows how closely correlated each

factor is with how likely employees feel they will lose

their job. Figure 13 shows that each factor is highly

correlated with this issue.

It is not surprising that there should be a link between

an employee saying that it is likely that they will lose

their job and wider concerns about the future. What is

surprising, however, is the relative disconnect between

an employee fearing for their job and whether or not

the company they work for has actually made

redundancies or plans to do so. Combining the data for

the whole year shows that over two-thirds of

employees in businesses that have made redundancies

do not have any concerns for their job security. In fact,

the proportion in these businesses that say that they are

unlikely to lose their job is greater than the proportion

who say they are likely.

21

23

25

19

15

17

13

11

7

9

5

7.6

7.8

8.0

7.4

7.2

7.0

6.8

6.4

6.6

6.2Spring

Likely to lose job

Verylikely/likelytolosejob(%

)

Nationalunemploymentrateforthreemonths

priortothesurvey(%)

Unemployment rate

AutumnSummer Winter

36

Figure 12: Fear of losing job against unemployment rate



20/36

60

50

56

46

37

18

40

30

20

10

0Spring

Worried about the future

Concern over job security

Base: All UK employees whose organisation has been affected by the recession (spring: n = 2,363; summer: n = 2,672; autumn: n = 1,712; winter: n = 1,722)

Feel less secure in job Concerned about being made redundant

Summer Autumn

Correlation 0.63

Correlation 0.70

Correlation 0.82

Winter

50

42

34

17

51

44

36

17

51

44

37

18

Figure 13: Worries about job security (%)

Private sector employees felt less insecure about their

job in winter 2009 than they did at the beginning of

the year in spring. However, for public sector employees

job security went in reverse a third of public sector

employees agreed in spring 2009 that they felt less

secure about their job, but by winter 2009 this figure

had increased to 42%. Security among voluntary sector

employees remained consistent throughout the year.

Being satisfied and feeling secure about your job is

important to the UK workforce, but it would be safe

to assume that being able to perform is just as

important. While there was no significant relationship

between job satisfaction and worklife balance, the

next section will examine what worklife balance

means to employees and how it may affect other

aspects of employment.



21/36

4 Worklife balance

In addition to being an employee, the likelihood is that

individuals are also partners, parents, children or even

carers for others. As a result the balance they achieve

between their work and day-to-day life is important.

While previous sections suggested that respondents did

not make a connection between having an imbalance

between work and home life and overall job satisfaction,

this section will look at the impact of worklife balance in

a wider context. So, how has worklife balance changed

over the year?

Maintaining a balance

Balance between home and work lives significantly

improved over the course of the year, with figures being

at their highest in summer 2009 (61%).

As might be expected, as support from organisations

improved, the balance between home and work life also

improved. As figures peaked in summer for the balance

between home and work life, the percentage who

agreed that their organisation and managers provides

them support also increased.

6056

58 59

36 36

32 31

4037

3432

61

70

50

40

30

20

10

0I acheive the right balance between

my home and work lives.

Strongly agree/agree (Spring)


My organisation provides support to help

me manage my worklife balance.

My manager provides support to help

me manage my worklife balance.

Strongly agree/agree (Summer)

Strongly agree/agree (Autumn) Strongly agree/agree (Winter)

Figure 14: Worklife balance 2009 (%)



22/36

In section 3 a recurring trend seemed to emerge that

public sector employees felt more supported than private

sector employees this seems to be the case in relation

to worklife balance as well.

As Figure 15 shows, employees within the private sector

were more likely to disagree that their organisation

provides them with support with mainly negative net

scores (except for summer 2009). Employees working

within the public and voluntary sector, however, were

generally quite satisfied, with positive net scores

throughout the year.

When worklife balance was examined against those

who do and do not have children under 18, there was

not a great deal of difference. Regardless of children,

70% of the UK population felt they achieved the right

balance between home and work.

There seems to be varied support across sector and

organisation when it came to balancing work and

home life. Most employees felt that their organisation

was generally supportive regarding worklife balance,

but does this positivity and support relate to other

things within the organisation, such as management?

The next section looks at how the UK workforce feels

about its senior management.

2025 15 10 5

5

4

3

0 5 10

6

6

10

9

15

7

20

10

11

15 20 25

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Private sector

Winter

Public sector Voluntary sectorBase: Private sector (spring: n = 2,230; summer: n = 2,223; autumn: n = 1,464; winter: n = 1,459),

public sector (spring: n = 713; summer: n = 721; autumn: n = 395; winter: n = 381),

voluntary sector (spring: n = 221; summer: n = 206; autumn: n = 108; winter: n = 105)

Figure 15: Organisational support for worklife balance (net scores)

Table 4: Parents and worklife balance (combined 2009) (%)

I achieve the right balance between my home and work lives.

Children No children

Agree 70 69

Disagree 31 31



23/36

5 Attitudes to senior management

In section 2, we saw that the role of senior management

is very important in shaping an employees job

satisfaction. Therefore, how senior managers are

perceived by their employees is important as they not

only affect how the company operates but how its

employees operate.

This section explores whether or not attitudes towards

senior management have changed over the four surveys

and how the UK workforce is being communicated to by

its senior leaders.

Figure 16 shows that net agreement scores with various

statements about senior managers have generally

remained similar over the last four seasons, with a few

shifts in trust and employee consultation. Net

agreement scores are the percentage of UK employees

who agree subtracted from the percentage of

employees who disagree.

The line of data for trust and consulting employees are

almost mirror images of each other and, interestingly, as

the scores for confidence dip, so do the scores for trust.

Net scores for treating employees with respect and

having a clear vision have also remained similar over the

last four seasons. When it comes to consultation, net

scores are negative, indicating that senior management

generally tend not to consult employees about

important decisions.

30

2017

11

2

24

21

29 28

1

5

4

0

10

0

10

20

30Spring

Clear vision

Netagreementscores

Trust Consult employees about important decisions


Treat employees with respect Confidence


16

13

5

17

11

12

16

11

Figure 16: Senior management 2009 (net agreement score)



24/36

At the end of 2009, just under half (44%) of UK

employees (excluding sole traders) agreed that the

directors/senior management team of their organisation

have a clear vision of where the organisation is going

and how to get there.

While UK employees seem content with the clarity of

senior managements vision for the organisation, they are

less so with how they are involved in important decisions.

Since spring 2009, the percentage of employees who

disagree that their directors/senior managers consult them

about important decisions has increased significantly from

48% to 52%. Having said this, results indicate that micro

businesses have continued to consult better than medium

and larger organisations throughout 2009.

Confidence and trust have generally been low since

spring 2009. There also seems to have been a recurring

pattern throughout the year in that the smaller the

organisation, the more trust employees have in senior

managers. Interestingly, section 5 identified that the

more honest and open a manager, the more job

satisfaction an employee has. Not surprisingly,

employees working for micro and small organisations

were more satisfied with their job than those working

in medium and large organisations.

Figure 17 shows that as the size of the organisationincreases, the level of trust decreases. Employees

working in micro organisations were almost twice as

likely to trust senior management within their

organisation. For micro organisations the level of trust

remained consistent over 2009, with no significant

changes in results. For small organisations the level of

trust increased significantly between spring and

summer of 2009, but then remained the same over

autumn and winter.

For employees working within larger organisations, the

shift in trust was more significant. Between spring and

summer of 2009, the level of trust employees had with

their directors/senior managers increased significantly.

This then decreased significantly in autumn only to

remain consistent in winter. Aside from organisation

size, what else could explain the general low levels of

trust among UK employees?

Figure 17: UK employees who trust directors/senior management team of their organisation (strongly agree/agree percentages)

60

57

55

5846

45

31

3728

25

39

47 33

3926

30

Micro organisation Small organisation Medium organisation Large organisation




25/36

By the end of 2009, private sector employees were

significantly more likely than their public sector

counterparts to agree that senior management within

their organisation have a clear vision. When it comes to

confidence, however, voluntary sector employees aresignificantly more likely than private and public sector

employees to agree that they have confidence in senior

management (50% compared with 39% private sector

and 24% public sector employees).

With voluntary sector employees having most

confidence, it is not surprising that they are also

significantly more likely to trust senior management

than public and private sector employees 52% of

voluntary sector employees agreed that they trust senior

management compared with 23% of public and 37%

of private sector employees.

Attitudes towards line managers

During 2009, over 90% of the UK workforce reported

to a manager/boss/supervisor and the Employee

Outlooksurvey explored how line managers interacted

with their staff and what they actually did.

UK employees were asked how often their line

managers do the things listed in Table 5. The

frequency of the scale was: (i) always; (ii) usually; (iii)

sometimes; (iv) rarely; (v) never. Percentages shown in

Table 5 are aggregated scores for those who ticked

always or usually.

Scores have remained more or less similar over the last

four seasons; however, training and development has

seemed to take a back seat with a significant drop

since spring 2009. In the final quarter (winter 2009),

over a third (36%) of UK employees stated their

managers always or usually discussed their training and

development needs with them compared with 40% in

spring 2009.

The decline in training and development is perhaps

expected as simultaneously the number of UK

employees whose organisations have cut back on

training as a result of the economic downturn has also

increased significantly (17% in spring 2009 compared

with 23% in winter 2009). This is also reflected in the

findings of our annual Learning and Talent

Developmentsurvey 2010, which shows that funds

available for learning and development in the past 12

months have decreased for over half (52%) of

organisations, with only one in ten employers (11%)

expecting these to increase in the year to come.

Table 5: Line management attributes: To what extent does your immediate supervisor do each of the following? (%)

Spring Summer Autumn Winter(n = 2,562) (n = 2,662) (n = 1,703) (n = 1,668)

Is committed to my organisation 71 69 69 67

Treats me fairly 70 70 69 67

Is supportive if I have a problem 64 65 63 61

Listens if I have a suggestion to make 63 63 63 61Is open and honest 60 61 59 55

Makes clear what is expected of me 58 59 58 56

Recognises when I have done a good job 57 55 56 52

Makes sure I have the resources to do the job 54 54 50 51

Makes me feel my work counts 53 54 51 48

Consults me on matters of importance to me 53 54 54 52

Keeps me in touch with what's going on 51 50 51 47

Gives me feedback on how I am performing 46 46 45 43

Discusses my training and development needs

with me40 39 38 36

Coaches me on the job 30 29 30 27



26/36

With a lack of trust among UK employees with regards

to senior management, it is no surprise that the number

of employees who feel their manager is always or

usually open and honest has decreased significantly

since spring 2009.

Splits of figures between the private and public sectors

have decreased in spring 2009, 60% of private

sector employees and 63% of public sector employees

said their manager is always or usually open and

honest but by winter these figures decreased to 53%

and 56% respectively.

Communication with the UK workforce

In winter 2009, just over two-fifths (42%) of UK

employees felt fully informed about what was

happening within their organisation. This figure

decreased significantly from spring 2009 when just

under half (46%) of UK employees felt fully informed.

At the other end of the spectrum over a third (36%) of

UK employees felt they received only a limited amount

of information and one in seven said they heard very

little information about what is going on. It is important

to note that employees within the public sector are

more likely to state that they receive limited or little

information about what is going on compared with

private and voluntary sector employees.

Figure 18 shows net satisfaction scores for employees

across sector. Employees working within the voluntary

sector seem far more satisfied with the opportunities

provided to them to voice their issues/ideas upwards

than those working within the private and public sector.

With the public sector being least informed and most

dissatisfied with opportunities to feed their views

upwards, could there be a link between how informed

an organisation keeps its employees and the

opportunities it provides to voice their opinions?

Figure 19 shows that employees who were satisfied

with existing opportunities to feed their views upwards

were also more likely to state that they felt fully

informed about what is happening within their

organisation. Those who were dissatisfied were more

likely to state they received only a limited amount of

information.

30

20

25

14 14

610

0

10

20

30Spring

Voluntary sector

Netagreemen

tscores

Base: Private sector (spring: n = 2,230; summer: n = 2,223; autumn: n = 1,464; winter: n = 1,459), public sector (spring: n = 713;

summer: n = 721; autumn: n = 395; winter: n = 381), voluntary sector (spring: n = 221; summer: n = 206; autumn: n = 108; winter: n = 105)

Private sector Public sector


24

4

30

7 7

14

29

Figure 18: UK employees satisfied with existing opportunities to feed views upwards by sector



27/36

There is an indication that the more likely an

organisation is to inform their employees, the more

likely they are to include them. One could argue that

the choice to include employees is that of senior

management could wealth of organisationalinformation among employees translate into trust and

confidence among senior management? The next

section looks in detail at how senior management

communicate.

Senior management and communication

Past research into engagement has found that one of

the potential drivers is feeling well informed about what

is happening in the organisation. As information plays

an important role in both engagement and satisfaction,

could it also influence trust and confidence among

senior management?

Figure 20 on page 26 shows how employees who are

fully informed feel about senior management compared

with those who are not informed. Scores shown below

are net agreement scores (that is, the percentage of UK

employees who agree subtracted from the percentage

of employees who disagree).

With a difference of 116 points, there is an indication

that how well informed an employee feels could affect

the level of trust and confidence they have towards

their directors/senior managers. With net scores of

+52 and +48, employees who are fully informed are

far more likely to have confidence and trust in senior

management.

A net score of 86 also seems to indicate that staffwho are least informed generally tend to state that

senior management do not consult them on

important decisions.

Lack of information also seems to relate to lack of

vision. Eighty-four per cent of UK employees who feel

fully/fairly informed agreed that the directors/senior

management team of their organisation have a clear

vision of where the organisation is going and how to

get there, compared with 34% of those who have

limited or little information.

When it comes to senior management, those working

within the public sector seemed least satisfied but were

also least informed about what is happening within

their organisation. While we are unable to say with

certainty, there is the possibility that informing the UK

workforce could improve, to some extent, perception

and interaction towards senior management.

The question is whether poor management and

communication is forcing employees to move on. The

next section looks at employees future plans in more

detail.

Figure 19: UK employee satisfaction with existing opportunities to feed views upwards (%)

I feel fully informed. I feel fairly well informed.

I receive only a limited amount of information. I get to hear very little about what goes on.

Dont know

Dissatisfied 141 150 34

Satisfied 22 66 11 1 0



28/36

100

90

80

70 64

1010

20

30

40

50

60

0

20

10

30

40

5060

70

80

90

100The directors/senior

management team of

my organsation have

a clear vision of

where the organisation

is going and how

to get there.

Fully/fairly informed

Netagreementscores

Scores shown are net agreement scores (that is, the percentage of UK employees who agree subtracted from the percentage

of employees who disagree).

Limited/little information

I have confidence in

the directors/senior

management team

of my organisation.

I trust the directors/

senior management

team of my organisation.

The directors/senior

management team

of my organisation

treat employees

with respect.

The directors/senior

management team

of my organisation

consult employees

about important

decisions.

52

64

34

68

52

86

48

62

98

116 116

114

96

Figure 20: Relationship between information and views of senior managers



29/36

6 Job-seeking

2009 saw the UK economy take a turn for the worse

when it was announced that the country was officially in

recession. Although there is no certainty, it is possible

that if the economic climate was better, the UK

workforces future job plans may have been different.

This section explores how future job-seeking intentions

have changed for UK employees over the year, who is

moving on and who is not and how optimistic they are

about the future. The section also explores employees

views on retirement and pensions.

UK employees moving on

Figure 21 shows the percentage of employees who said

they would ideally like to change their job within the

next year.

Results indicate that intentions across the sectors are

fairly similar; however, some shifts exist among the

private and public sector during summer and autumn

2009.

During spring and summer 2009, the percentage of UK

employees who said they would ideally like to change

their job decreased significantly. Between the summer

and autumn seasons this figure then increased

significantly only to remain constant during the last two

seasons of the year. This was also the case for those

working within the public and voluntary sector.

As Figure 22 on page 28 shows, opinions also varied

based on the age of the employee. Not surprisingly,

those aged 55 and older generally tended to be

consistent in regards to changing jobs. This could be a

result of many things, but some possibilities could be

that they are already in an established senior position or

that they are close to retiring and therefore do not deem

it relevant to be moving around.

At the other end of the spectrum, employees aged 18 to

24 seemed more likely to want to move than other age

groups. In winter 2009, 73% said they would ideally like

to change their job within the next year.

60

50

43

38

34

40

44

35

40

30%

20

10

0Spring

Private sector


Public sector Voluntary sector


4242

38

31

Figure 21: Desire to change jobs within the next year, by sector (%)



30/36

70

80

60

50

56

48

56

73

52

41

35

24

41

37

22

36

31

22

46

37

36

23

40%

30

20

10

0Spring

1824


2534 3544 4554 55+


Figure 22: Desire to change jobs within the next year, by age (%)

What could be influencing the workforce?

It would be fair to assume that the recession would have

a substantial impact on employee behaviour. In spring

2009 a quarter of UK employees said their organisation

had not been affected by the economic downturn. This

figure decreased significantly in summer to 21% only to

continue decreasing during the next two seasons,

eventually ending at 17% in winter 2009.

In spring 2009, employees working within the public

sector were more likely to state that their organisation

has not been affected by the economic downturn, with34% stating this compared with 26% of voluntary sector

and 23% of private sector employees. By winter all

sectors had been hit severely by the recession, particularly

the public sector, with the figure for those stating their

organisation had not been affected by the economic

downturn decreasing by 23 percentage points.

Respondents were asked how easy or difficult it would

be to find a new job if they lost their current job as a

result of the recession the majority said it would be

difficult. Opinions among private sector employees

remained fairly similar over the year when it came to

finding a new job, with the majority (64%) stating it

would be difficult to find a new job if they lost their

current one as a result of the recession.

Public and voluntary sector employees, however, were far

more optimistic in spring than in winter, when the impact

of the recession was in full swing. In spring 2009, 56%

of public and 55% of voluntary sector employees said it

would be difficult to find a new job if they lost their

current one as a result of the recession by winter these

figures had increased to 64% and 63% respectively.

As well as loss of confidence in job security, employees

have identified other factors that have affected them

personally as a result of the economic downturn. Could

there be any internal factors within the control of the

organisation that would help employee retention?

Figure 23 shows a breakdown of employees who would

and would not like to move jobs within the next year

against factors that have resulted from the recession. The

percentages shown are of those employees who agree.

Over half (55%) of UK employees who would like to

change jobs within the next year said they felt less secure



31/36

60

50

55

51

27

13

4038

17

37

40

30%

20

10

0 I feel less secure

in my job.

Would like to change jobs Would not like to change jobs

There is more

office politics.

I am less trusting

of my manager.

There is more conflict

in the workplace.

I feel confident finding

work elsewhere.

16

14

18

23

27 21

2

Figure 23: Factors influencing employees desire to change jobs (%)

in their job compared with 37% who would not like to

change jobs.

The recession has seemed to bring along with it more

office politics, with those who would ideally like to

change jobs more likely to state it as an issue. Not

surprisingly, the amount of conflict in the workplace also

seems to be a factor. Just under one in five (17%) of UK

employees not considering moving within the next year

said that they experience more office conflict as a result

of the economic climate. When compared with those

who would like to move, the figure increased by 21

percentage points to 38%.

Throughout the report the issue of trust has come upmany times as being of significance, whether it is in

relation to job satisfaction or perceptions of senior

management. With one of the largest differences,

trusting managers is perhaps of most significance when

employees are considering moving. Two-fifths of UK

employees who would ideally like to move within the

next year agreed that they are less trusting of their

managers compared with 13% who would not move.

Regardless of intentions to move, uncertainty about the

economic climate still exists. With a difference of two

percentage points, those considering moving are just as

uncertain about finding work elsewhere as those who

are not considering moving.

Now that we have identified who wants to change jobs

and why, the next step is to examine how optimistic they

are that they will be able to find a new job.

The optimists and pessimists

Figure 24 shows an overview of how employees wanting

to change jobs felt about actually being able to. In spring

2009, 39% of UK employees wanting to change jobs

were very optimistic or optimistic about being able to.

This figure dropped significantly to 33% by winter.

After an official announcement in spring 2009 that theUK is in recession, it is perhaps not surprising that

employees were more pessimistic about changing jobs

during summer 2009. With low scores in summer, there

is a possible indication that employees began to see and

feel the impacts of the recession. With a net score of

13, the year ended with many feeling pessimistic about

changing their job.

With a net score of +9, public sector employees were

more optimistic about being able to change jobs than

their private sector employees (3) in spring 2009. By

winter there was a drastic drop in net scores (private



32/36

39

2

3937 41 33

464052

60

70

80

90

100

50%

40

30

20

10

0 15

10

5

0

5

10

15

Spring

Optimistic

Base: All UK employees (spring: n = 1,193; summer: n = 1,164; autumn: n = 870; winter: n = 793)

Pessimistic Net


Netscore

1213

2

Figure 24: Optimism among UK employees in relation to changing jobs (%)

sector: 13; public sector: 23), possibly confirming the

impacts felt by employees as a result of the downturn.

The feeling is that those employees who wanted to move

jobs in 2009 were generally not very optimistic about

being able to do so but what about employees who

did not want to move jobs?

UK employees: staying put

In summer 2009, the Employee Outlookcovered

additional ground to identify why employees would not

like to change their jobs. As this question was only asked

in one season, the figures for this section relate only to

summer 2009.

The main reason why employees said they would not

like to change their job in the next year is because they

are satisfied. With 32% of employees stating this, it is

by far the most important. Job security comes second,

with 13% stating this, followed by difficulty in finding

another job at 11%. Private sector employees were

significantly more likely than public sector employees to

state that they would not like to change jobs because it

would be difficult to find another one (12% compared

with 8% respectively). However, public sector

employees were significantly more likely to state job

security as a reason than private sector employees (18%

compared with 13%).

One in ten said they would not want to change jobs

because of the pay and benefits they receive (9%) and

because they enjoy working with their colleagues (8%).

Very few (2%) said they would not like to change job

because they have a good line manager and no one

stated trusting senior management as a reason to stay.

Now that we have looked at employees next short-term

steps, where do they see themselves in the long term?

Preparing for their future

In autumn 2009, UK employees were asked their views

on retirement. Just under a third (31%) said they do not

plan to work beyond retirement/state pension age. One

in ten said they plan to work part-time with the same

employer and 8% said they plan to work full-time with

the same employer.

There is an indication that employees working within

larger organisations are less likely to work beyond the

retirement/state pension age than those working for

micro and small organisations.



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0.046

Employees working within the private sector were shows the majority will continue to work due to financial

almost twice as likely as their public sector reasons (75%). For one in six (59%) it is about having

counterparts to want to work beyond retirement. the opportunity to continue to use their skills and

Women are also significantly more likely than men to experience and for 56% it is about social interaction.

want to work beyond retirement. Interestingly, for a quarter of UK employees, continuingto work is about self-esteem.

For those employees surveyed in autumn 2009, reasons

for working beyond retirement varied, but as Figure 26

0 105

32

13

11

9

8

5

3

2

2

1

1

1

0

0

13

20

%

15 3025 35

I enjoy working with colleagues

Dont know

Other

I receive a good bonus

I trust the senior management team

Good training and development opportunities

Receive a decent redundancy package if made redundant

Good line manager

Good career development opportunities

Good pension

I like my customers/clients

Good pay and benefits

Difficult to find another job at the moment

Job security

Job satisfaction

70

75

5956

47

2 4 1

80

50

60

40%

30

20

10

0Financial reasons Would like to

continue usingmy skills and

experience

Social interaction Self-esteem To minimise time

spent withpartner/children

Other Dont know

Figure 25: Reasons for not changing jobs (%)

Figure 26: Reasons for continuing employment beyond retirement (%)



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Conclusions

The report has pieced together the results of four surveys

that have tracked the views and experiences of a

representative sample of the UK workforce. As a result

of the research we have an insight into working life

from more than 10,000 employees.

There is no doubt that 2009 was a difficult year for

the workforce. Rising unemployment, pay freezes and

a tightening of the jobs market all added to a sense of

uncertainty about the economic future. By the end of

2009 only 17% of employees said that their

organisation had been left untouched by the

recession. So what does the research tell us about

working life during 2009?

Are we happy in our jobs?

By and large we are happy in our jobs. The proportion

of people throughout the year who said that they

were satisfied with their job outweighed the

proportion who were dissatisfied. So far so good.

However, the surveys show that we were less happy at

the end of the year than we were at the start. Job

satisfaction fell substantially in the summer and did

not recover. Employees in large organisations were the

most dissatisfied, with sole traders and those working

in the voluntary sector the most satisfied. Why is this?

The surveys identify a number of connected reasons.

Many people felt that they worked too hard, and feltunder excessive pressure more frequently than they

were comfortable with. People also felt insecure in

their jobs, with no realistic expectation that they could

find something different. Job security is not, however,

a key driver of job satisfaction (and neither is income).

Peoples sense of job security improved at the end of

the year but this was not matched by an improvement

in job satisfaction.

What can employers do about this? The surveys

consistently show that managers can actually do a lot

to affect the way their employees feel. The research

demonstrates in a number of places causal links

between managerial performance in competencies

such as openness, honesty and communication and

how employees feel about their jobs. The report

clearly identified a number of key drivers of job

satisfaction that are in the gift of managers to affect

both positively and negatively. Get these right and

employees are more likely to respond, not just with

greater job satisfaction but with greater loyalty to the

organisation and a greater propensity to recommend it

as an employer. Get it wrong and the reverse happens.

Do we work too hard?

Is there a culture of working long hours and feeling

under stress and pressure? There is no doubt that

many people feel under excessive pressure. About

three in ten employees say that their workload is too

much and one in seven feel under excessive pressure

every day. A further one in four feel under excessive

pressure once or twice a week. Those in medium and

large organisations were most likely to feel the

pressure. Despite this feeling of being under pressure,

many employees are prepared to go the extra mile for

their organisations. The key ingredient here is that

they feel valued by their employer.

That said, employees generally feel that they have got

the balance right between work and home life. Oversix in ten employees believe that they have the

balance right. Women in particular were more likely

than men to say they had struck the right balance.

Is there a disconnect between employees and the

people who run the organisation?

There is no real evidence that employers and

employees are pulling in the same direction with a

sense of shared values and purpose. Only one in seven

employees were clear about the core purpose of their

organisation and just over four in ten believed that

their manager had a clear view on where the



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organisation was going. Only two-fifths felt fully

informed about what was happening within their

organisation. In the public sector it was even less.

Part of the disconnect relates to dissatisfaction amongemployees over the opportunity to have their voice

heard and with their manager being open and honest

with them. Throughout the research the communication

skills of the manager and adopting an open and honest

dialogue has been shown to be crucial. Communicating

important information in an open and honest way leads

to greater trust and confidence in senior managers and

a greater sense of sharing in the purpose of the

organisation. This can only be a good thing for the

overall prospects of the organisation.

Are we managing?

A recurring theme throughout the research is the

impact that managers have on their employees

satisfaction, sense of purpose and commitment to the

job. A manager who is open and honest, who informs

and communicates, who recognises achievement and

values their staff is rewarded with satisfied and

motivated staff.

Worryingly the research has shown that as the year

progressed, rather than doing more of the good

things, many managers did fewer of them. Fewer

people at the end of the year said that their manager

recognised the value in the job they do. Fewer felt theirmanager was supportive, open and honest and was

committed to the organisation. Of course, motivation

and job satisfaction is not entirely down to how an

employee relates to their manager our research also

showed the importance of variety in what an employee

does, the opportunity they have to use their skills and a

degree of autonomy in how they work. Nevertheless,

the employeemanager dynamic is an important

determinant of how an employee feels about their

work and it is clear from the research that more could

be done by managers, particularly within large private

organisations, to strengthen this relationship.



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We explore leading-edge people management and development issues through our research.

Our aim is to share knowledge, increase learning and understanding, and help our members

make informed decisions about improving practice in their organisations.

We produce many resources on employee relations issues including guides, books, practical tools,

surveys and research reports. We also organise a number of conferences, events and training

courses. Please visit www.cipd.co.uk to find out more.

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