Employee Disengagement Costs UK 340bn Every Year

Britainís workforce is suffering from a motivation crisis that is seriously harming productivity, research from management consultancy Hay Group reveals today.

According to Hay Groupís Whatís My Motivation? report, just 15% of UK workers consider themselves ëhighly motivatedí, with as many as a quarter (24%) admitting to ëcoastingí and a further tenth (8%) being ëcompletely demotivatedí.

Well under half (39%) of employees love their job, and even less ñ a paltry 17% - are doing their ëdream jobí. Less than half (48%) of British employees consider themselves ambitious.

But the most worrying finding for UK PLC is that poor staff motivation is cutting productivity by close to half. Just a fifth (21%) of British workers consider themselves ëvery effectiveí in their current job role. Employees believe that they would be as much as 45% more productive if they were doing a job they loved, and 28% more productive with better training. A 45% increase in employee productivity could be worth up to 340bn added output per year to the UK service sector alone, with a 28% increase worth some 212 billion.

Poor management is also part of the problem, the study shows, with employees feeling they could be 28% more productive with a better boss.

Emmanuel Gobillot, Director of Leadership Services and author of the report, said: ìCompanies are failing to engage their employees - and paying a heavy price in productivity. British business leaders must focus on gaining the buy-in of workers if Britain is to be competitive in an increasingly global economy.î

Donít Show Them The Money
Money, however, is not the answer when it comes to engaging staff, the research found.

Well over half (55%) of employees agreed that while salary motivates them to turn up for work factors other than salary are required to motivate them to work hard. Workers ranked salary only third among the most important determinants of job satisfaction, after challenging and interesting work and work-life balance.

ìEarning money may get us out of bed and into the office each morning, but it wonít produce a motivated workforce,î Emmanuel Gobillot said. ìEmployee engagement stems from a complex range of factors, including effective leadership and company culture as well as pay.î

Best Intentions
The Hay Group research paints a fascinating picture of a workforce that wants to do a good job, but is not being motivated to do so.

When asked to describe their approach at work, a resounding three quarters (74%) of employees stated that they take pride in doing a good job for its own sake. Even more (84%) care about their teamís success.

Yet little over a third of employees (38%) expressed a sense of loyalty to their company, with more than half (54%) being prepared to leave for a higher salary, and 41% for a more interesting job or better career prospects.

ìBritish employees are diligent and want to work hard and perform well, but bosses are missing the opportunity to tap into this,î said Emmanuel Gobillot. ìIf business leaders can engage employees with their business goals and align rewards with performance, loyalty need not be a thing of the past.î

Scotland Dominates The Motivation Map
Scottish workers are the UKís most motivated, according to the study, while Londoners are the least engaged.

Compared to a national average of just 15%, almost a third (29%) of Scots are highly motivated.
45% of Scots love their job, compared to 39% UK-wide, and as many as 18% are in their dream role. 43% of Scottish workers feel a sense of loyalty to the company, as opposed to just 38% nationally.

At the other end of the scale, overworked Londoners are the most dissatisfied, with just 10% saying they are highly motivated at work. A mere 29% love their job, 10% below the national average. Under a third (30%) feel loyal to their company. Londonís notorious long hours culture may have a part to play here, with 89% ranking work-life balance as the single most important determinant of job satisfaction ñ the highest such response among the regions.

Perhaps surprisingly, Midlanders are the most money-oriented among UK workers, with 88% considering salary to be the most important factor in job satisfaction. Contrary to popular perception, Scots (76%) and Southerners (75%) are the least financially driven.