Last updated: 29 Oct 2024 11:00 Posted in:
The UK economy is losing billions of pounds each year because of widespread worker dissatisfaction over issues such as burnout or employers’ slow responses to tackling workplace issues, according to a new report.
A survey of more than 2,000 adults suggested that employees estimate they are absent from work for more than seven hours a month if they are dissatisfied or unhappy in their job.
Three out of four respondents to the survey by technology firm SafetyCulture complained about issues such as unreasonable expectations, burnout or pressure to cut corners to save money.
SafetyCulture’s Alex Brooks-Sykes said: “The potential cost of dissatisfied workers is worrying for businesses and for the UK. Employers may see a certain amount of worker dissatisfaction as inevitable, but our report highlights important steps they can take.
“Some workers are frustrated because workplace issues and risks aren’t being dealt with fast enough. These health, safety and quality issues are something employers should address right away.
“Other workers say they lack the right tools or resources, which again can be resolved with the right investments.”
In a separate study, researchers found that helping the UK working population reach both a level of high individual wellbeing and commitment could generate around £34 billion in improved productivity per year.
According to Legal and General (L&G) Group Protection and Fruitful Insights, the productivity losses for employees with low individual wellbeing and commitment are as much as two-and-a-half times more than those with high individual wellbeing and commitment.
For employees with low individual wellbeing and commitment, productivity loss per employee was calculated at £10,500 per year, the study found. This was more than double the productivity loss for an employee with supportive colleagues (£4,700).
Mike Tyler, chair and co-founder at Fruitful Insights, said: “It would be impossible to get productivity loss to zero. Thinking you can, might only lead to issues such as work-related stress and burnout. The important point is that the most satisfied employees have a much lower level of productivity loss than the very dissatisfied employees. So, our focus should be on bringing the tail up; focusing on where people are dissatisfied, as opposed to expecting 100%.”
The research found that subjective wellbeing measures such as job satisfaction correlated directly to the impact of wellbeing on the productivity of a business.
The primary factors that lead to positively or negatively impacting wellbeing were cultural factors, such as work control, competence and relatedness (good relationships with managers and colleagues).
Tyler added: “There’s clearly a big prize to be had, in terms of improving wellbeing and commitment, and hence productivity of the UK working population. But that won’t be achieved through subjective wellbeing measures alone. These are important, but it’s time to evolve.
“To really get to the core of the matter, employers need to be encouraged to focus on the cultural drivers of wellbeing.”
"The important point is that the most satisfied employees have a much lower level of productivity loss than the very dissatisfied employees. So, our focus should be on bringing the tail up; focusing on where people are dissatisfied, as opposed to expecting 100%.”
Mike Tyler, Chair & Co-Founder, Fruitful Insights