Britain at work: a marriage breakdown in progress?

Relationships between employers and employees in many British workplaces resemble a marriage under stress, characterised by poor communications and low levels of trust. This leads to underperformance, low productivity and high levels of staff turnover.

These conclusions are drawn from a new survey of 2,000 UK employees, investigating employee attitudes, commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), and conducted by Kingston Business School and Ipsos MORI.

We just donít talk anymore...

Around one-third of employees (30%) say they rarely or never get feedback on their performance.

42% of employees do not feel they are kept well informed about what is going on in their organisation.

Just 37% of employees are satisfied with the opportunities they have to feed their views and opinions upwards.

You just take me for granted...

One-quarter (25%) of employees are rarely or never made to feel their work counts.

Only 38% of employees say directors and senior managers treat them with respect.

You really get me down...

44% of employees feel under excessive pressure once or twice a week or more.

22% of employees experience high levels of stress, this rises to 32% amongst managers.

The magic is gone...

Almost half of employees (43%) are dissatisfied with the relationship with their manager.

Around one-quarter (26%) of employees rarely or never look forward to going to work.

I just canít trust you...

32% of employees are dissatisfied with the way their organisation is managed.

Only 37% have confidence in their senior management team and 34% trust their senior managers

I want out...

Around one-quarter (26%) are dissatisfied in their job.

47% of employees are looking for another job or in process of leaving their current job.

Mike Emmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, says: Many employees feel like neglected spouses. As in any marriage, good relationships need work and commitment. But with only three in ten employees engaged the findings suggest many managers just arenít doing enough to keep their staff interested.

Lack of communication means many employees feel unsupported and donít feel their hard work is recognised. As a result the sparkle has gone out of the relationship, damaging productivity levels in many UK businesses.î

Catherine Truss, Professor of Human Resource Management at Kingston University Business School and lead author of the report, says: ìThis study clearly shows how much management practice affects peopleís attitudes towards their work. There is so much that managers can do to make their staff feel valued and improve levels of engagement that will benefit both employers and employees.

ìWe found that people who are engaged with their work perform better, are more likely to act as advocates for their employer and experience more job satisfaction. So it is in the interests of everyone to find ways of addressing low levels of engagement in the workplace.î

There is the basis for a successful partnership, Mike Emmott added, but neither employers nor employees are really putting in the effort needed to lift the relationship out of the rut. ìNeither is getting the full benefits from the employment relationship and this has to be a top priority for organisations. Getting people to turn up for work is the easy bit. Getting them to go the extra mile requires effort and imagination. Employers should be looking to generate passion and enthusiasm, and to make work a happier experience for all their employees, says Emmott.

The survey, Working Life: Employee Attitudes and Engagement 2006, is being launched at the CIPDís Managing Change at Work Conference on the 5 December. It is the tenth survey in the series and is based on responses drawn from both private and public sectors. The survey explores trends in employee attitudes to work and relationships with managers and colleagues.

Other findings from the survey:

Public Sector:
Around one-quarter (26%) of those in the public sector feel very/extremely stressed compared to just 18% of those in the private sector.

Only 43% of public sector employees agree that their senior managers have a clear vision for the organisation, compared to 52% of employee in the private sector.

Only 32% of public sector employees have confidence in their senior managers and 29% trust them, compared to 41% and 39% of those working in the private sector.

28% of public sector workers experience some form of bullying and harassment, compared with 21% of those in the private sector

Mike Emmott says, ìLeaders in the public sector are under continuous pressure to meet efficiency targets and cut costs. But they will fail to deliver high levels of performance and customer service unless they also focus on the people management issues. Line managers need training to support their staff in order to help gain their trust and commitment.î

Gender
Women work shorter hours ñ 44% percent of women are contracted to work fewer than 35 hours a week, compared with 18% of men.

58% of women are happy with their work-life balance, compared to 52% of men.

29% of women experience some form of bullying or harassment, compared to 19% of men.

41% of women have confidence in their senior managers and 38% trust them, compared to just 34% and 32% of men.

Women are more likely to act as organisational advocates than men ñ 73% of women would be proud to tell people who they work for, compared to 68% of men.

Age
Workers aged 55 are more engaged than younger employees and are less likely to take sick leave.

Employees aged under the age of 35 are the least engaged.

Workers under 25 have more trust and confidence in their senior management team than older workers ñ almost half (47%) of employees under 25 trust their senior management compared to just 29% of those aged 45-54 and 31% 55 .

Catherine Truss says: ìOur research has debunked many of the myths that surround the older worker. Contrary to popular belief, we found that older employees are more engaged, take less sick leave and perform more highly than their younger colleagues. Recent changes in employment legislation, coupled with demographic trends, mean that organisations will be called upon to remove age barriers, and our research shows that this need not be seen as a problem, but rather a source of great benefit to employers.î

Disability
Only 45% of employees with a disability are satisfied at work, compared to just 52% of employees with no disability.

Employees with a disability tend to work a shorter week but only 48% of employees with disabilities are happy with their work-life balance compared to 55% of employees with no disability.

Around one-third (32%) of employees with a disability are stressed by their job, compared to just 21% of employees with no disability.

55% of employees with a disability experience some form of bullying or harassment, compared to just 22% of employees with no disability.

22% of employees with a disability are likely to say their manager is rarely or never supportive, compared to just 13% of those with no disability.