One in two UK workers considering job move

New research has revealed that in the last three months 47% of British workers have either looked for another job (29%), thought about quitting their job (26%), applied for another job (13%) or spoken to their employer about resigning (6%).

The research, by Ipsos, suggests that 2022 will be a turbulent year in the jobs market, putting pressure on employers to do more to retain staff.

More than a quarter of workers (27%) have either asked for a pay rise (12%), a promotion (9%) or spoken to their employer about changing their role (13%).

Worryingly for employers, 51% of workers who did not receive a pay rise last year have subsequently thought about leaving or actively looked to leave – but so have 44% of those who did receive a pay rise.

Younger workers are the most restless – 56% of those aged 16-34 say they have considered quitting or are looking or applying for a job outside their current company.

They are also the most likely to demand a pay rise or promotion – 42% of 16-34-year-old workers have tried to negotiate improved job conditions compared with 24% of those aged 35-54 and 11% of those aged 55 or over.

What are the reasons for job satisfaction and dissatisfaction?

For those who are happy with their job, salary, while important, is not the main cause of job satisfaction.

More important factors are the type of work they do (43%), work-life balance (38%), colleagues (36%), how interesting their work is (35%) and how secure their job is (35%). Thirty-four per cent say salary was a factor in job fulfilment.

However, amongst those who are dissatisfied with their current job, more than half (55%) cite pay as the main reason.

This is easily the most significant factor – other reasons given are issues with their line manager (28%) or senior management (24%); their workload (27%); how interesting their work is (27%); the type of work they do (24%); and the overall culture at work (26%).

Are pay rises falling behind inflation?

Almost half of British workers (49%) say they did not receive a pay rise, or any increase in their income, in 2021. Even amongst those fortunate enough to have received a pay rise, two in five say it was less than the rate of inflation (40%), whilst 33% received a raise of about the same as inflation. Only 20% received a pay increase higher than inflation.

Across the workforce, there is widespread pessimism about financial prospects in the coming months.

Almost six in ten workers (57%) think it is unlikely they will receive a pay rise higher than inflation – which is estimated to peak at 6% in April – whilst only 31% believe they are likely to receive an inflation-busting pay rise.

Kate Palmer, HR advice & consultancy director at Peninsula, said

“The great resignation is very much real and has posed significant difficulties for employers.

Mass and ongoing resignations has caused widespread staff shortages but is also forcing organisations to rethink and improve their employee offerings. Starting salaries are amongst the highest seen in recent years and investment into additional rewards programmes continue to increase, in line with employees’ growing expectations.

“The onset of the Covid pandemic has seen a shift in employees’ priorities.

“Where employees don’t feel their needs are being adequately met and supported, it is more likely that they will look for opportunities externally and resign from their position.

“Should this happen, employers may end up paying out more in recruitment and training costs, as well as in the loss of valuable and experienced personnel, than they would by increasing the benefits and remuneration packages of existing staff members.

How can organisations keep their top talent?

Katie continues:

A great way to keep valuable team members on the job is by conducting stay interview with employees – don’t wait until an employee has already resigned to complete an exit interview and understand what they don’t like about the company/their role; usually, by this point, it’s too late to implement measures to encourage them to stay.

“Instead, a stay interview can be completed at any time with any employee, to assess what they like about working for the organisation and areas which they feel could be improved upon.

It’s important for effective changes to be implemented in these areas, to support increased motivation, satisfaction and retention.”

Christophe Peymirat, Head of Uber for Business EMEA, believes getting the balance between personal attention organisation-wide benefits is key.

He said:

If we learnt one thing during the pandemic, it’s that employees want to be treated individually while still being able to enjoy the benefits of that wider business community feeling.

“Offering tailored experiences, whether this is work hours, location, type of commute, is, therefore, a must. And cultural events need to span all locations; both via video and in person.

“Food reward programmes are also a great idea, something we champion at Uber for Business.