Employers believe ëgood jobsí are linked to success

Employers believe ëgood jobsí are linked to success: new government policies need to create more good jobs

Employers are committed to improving the quality of jobs in the UK but lack guidance about how to achieve it, a new report published today by The Work Foundation, shows.

Far from seeing decent quality jobs and commercial or organisational success as conflicting objectives, the report shows that growing numbers of employers see them as mutually supporting goals.

Employers understood a ëgood jobí to involve: being valued and appreciated, interest and fulfilment, job satisfaction, autonomy, decent working conditions, morale and teamwork, effective management, and staff development

Although 78% did not mention pay, 22% cited it as an important feature. Poor quality of jobs was seen as being part of an underlying explanation for many persistent workforce issues they faced including sickness absence, retention, poor motivation levels and difficulties hiring the right people.

Stephen Bevan, managing director of The Work Foundation said:

ìEmployers grasp the link between staff wellbeing and how it can affect productivity. What is missing is how to deliver this. As organisations prepare for recovery after the recession, the need for the government to take a lead in supporting employers to tackle the root causes of lost productivity and ill-health will become more and more acute. But the responsibility for health and wellbeing of the workforce is spread across different government departments. We need one centralised body with a clear identity and a clear remit to work in partnership with employers to crack many of the UKís persistent job quality problems.î

Stephen Bevan also called for companies to be required to report job quality outcomes in their annual reports and for an increase in the scale and scope of the Challenge Fund proposed by Dame Carol Black for innovative workplace projects. He said that more investment is urgently needed to implement the Health and Safety Executiveís management standards if its aims to make a real impact were to be fully achieved.

ìEmployers should be encouraged to share best practice through their networks and large organisations should promote good work through their supply chains as routes to higher productivity and more consistent performance,î he added.

The research involved a series of workshops with UK private and public sector employers and a survey of 600 organisations. The major findings include:

Organisations either agreed or strongly agreed that the following were problems for their organisations: sickness absence (49%); recruitment of key staff (50%); staff retention and under performance (33%); staff ëpresenteeismí or de-motivated/uninterested/ineffective staff (25%)

Employers listed the major factors in organisational effectiveness as being fair pay (81%); fulfilling and interesting jobs (59%); investment in staff training (72%); a culture of trust (75%); flexible working (31%); employee engagement (51%); autonomy (58%) and keeping up with technology (54%)

Nearly half of employers surveyed (41%) saw a role for external agencies to help them with the ëgood jobsí agenda

Significantly more – at least 5% – public sector organisations had wellbeing policies in place than private sector firms though respondents did not see the presence of personnel policies as equating with better job quality

Almost all respondents saw job quality as vital to maintaining customer satisfaction
The report calls for the government to take the lead in helping employers do more to improve job quality. In addition, the government should champion better working conditions; promote best practice; carry out further research; publish case studies and incentivise employers to experiment with new approaches to good jobs.

HSE commissioned the study to reveal how employers – especially small firms – perceive job quality issues within their organisations and to understand how much they want to improve working conditions.

It reflects HSEís commitment to the broader scope of health and safety in the workplace to encompass mental health and general wellbeing as well as physical health associated with more traditional industries.

Peter Brown, HSEís head of health and work division said:
ìThis report by the Work Foundation confirms that there is a considerable level of interest in building good jobs and good workplaces, but that many employers need help to answer the question 'How do I start?'. The research shows that there is clearly a role for both the government and businesses that have already taken action to promote good practice.