Peeping over the Parapet! Skilled Staff Increasingly Dissatisfied

Posted on: 01.06.2010    10:00:53

Up to 40% of workers plan to leave their employer in the next year, according to a survey that highlights how vulnerable companies could be to the loss of star performers during the economic recovery.

Reasons to leave has been sharpened because measures taken to control costs, such as wage and recruitment freeze and internal reorganisations, have taken their toll on workplace morale and job satisfaction. Many have experience wage cuts if not actual then by increases in the cost of living which have eroded real living standards.

GfK NOP found that 13 per cent of workers planned to leave as soon as possible, with a further 11 per cent hoping to leave within 12 months. Many of those surveyed are likely to be sabre rattling but If those proportions carried out their intention across the workforce, it would mean 6m people changing jobs.

The hidden costs of high attrition rates will be damaging for any business, leading to higher operating costs and the additional costs of bedding in new, often higher paid staff .

About three in 10 staff said morale at work was worse than last year, with the public sector the most affected. A quarter said job satisfaction had also suffered and this is before the government gets to work on slashing the public sector.

With up to 270,000 public sector jobs rumoured to be under threat, how many of these people have transferable skills that can be used in the private sector? It could easily lead to a high level of long term poorly motivated individuals not used to the cut and thrust of the private sector becoming long term unemployed and a burden on the income generating parts of the economy.

 

Author: Chris Slay

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