To find out, we surveyed 1,020 adults currently in employment throughout the UK.
Day-to-day misery
To start with, we wanted to know how happy Brits are in their line of work, and just under 35% said that they were happy at work, with only 14% saying that they planned to stay in their current job for the next year.
More worryingly, just under 39% of Brits admitted that they feel miserable at work and this appears to be reflected in the amount of sickness that employees take, with 25% admitting that they’ve taken sick leave from work due to being so unhappy.
It’s true what they say about that ‘Monday morning feeling’, as just under 35% of those polled said that Monday was the most miserable day of the week to work!
Cause and effect
There are lots of reasons that a person might not enjoy their job, from working long hours to dealing with difficult people. So what’s the underlying cause of the nation’s unhappy workforce? It appears that poor management is the biggest contributor to an employee’s low sense of satisfaction at work.
Just over 31% of those polled agreed that being badly managed was their biggest issue in the workplace. However, having a heavy workload was a close second, with 29% of Brits citing this as the reason for their unhappiness.
With high volumes of workload being poorly managed, it’s little wonder that so many Brits are unhappy at work.
Trouble in different sectors
While poor management appears to be the underlying cause of so many of the nation’s work troubles, 28% of those in a management role said that they were unhappy with their job. Additionally, as many as 28% of managers said that they felt stressed all the time at work.
But unhappiness appears to be most prevalent in the nation’s call centres, where 29% of advisors were found to be the most miserable in their line of work.
On the other end of the scale, therapists were found to be the happiest workers, with more than half of those polled saying they enjoyed their jobs.
Seasonal statistics
It comes as no surprise that most Brits loathe working during the festive season, with as many as 38% saying they’d much rather be at home celebrating Christmas with their family than working.
Yet, over half of those participating in the survey said that they worked during Christmas, almost 58% of whom were men and 42% women.
Those aged between 18 and 24 appear to be the most willing to work during the season’s festivities, with as many as 18% saying that they love to work during the festive season. Similarly, a surprising 16% of those working in Yorkshire and the Humber also said that they love working at Christmas time!
So what would make working at Christmas a happier experience? Many admitted that more of a Christmassy atmosphere at work might help, with 30% saying that they felt that their workplace wasn’t particularly festive during the holidays.
While a handful of young professionals love working throughout Christmas, the majority of Brits would rather be celebrating with their friends and family. Could employers help improve the mood of their workforce by spreading a little more seasonal joy around the office? Our survey certainly suggests so!
https://www.workwearexpress.com/blog/misery-business-how-happy-is-the-nations-workforce/