UK Workers Amongst the Unhappiest in Europe

Media Release UK

7th June 2005  

• Less than half are happy in jobs
• Salary, skills and training cited as problems

A new international workplace survey has found that workers from the United Kingdom are amongst the most dissatisfied employees in Europe.

The survey by global recruitment agency, Kelly Services, sought the views of more than 14,000 people across Europe.

The Kelly World at Work survey, taken between June 2004 and February 2005, found that just 47 per cent of workers surveyed in the UK were either happy or very happy with their current position.  

This compares with 68% of Scandinavian workers who were either happy or very happy in their jobs, 61% in France, 53% in both Italy and Switzerland, 50% in both Russia and Germany, 46% in Spain, 45% in The Netherlands and 35% in Belgium.

In the UK survey, men (48%) were slightly more satisfied than female workers (47%). It also found that employees were particularly unhappy with the level of salary, health benefits, and training opportunities.

Older workers tended to be less satisfied in their positions than younger workers.

In the UK, those workers most happy in their jobs were engaged in Research (59%) and Engineering (53%).  Those least happy were from Sales/Customer Service (38%) and Management (45%). The most unhappy position in the UK is human resources (39%) with the happiest being research (59%).

By industry sectors, the happiest workers were those in Engineering, Utilities and Financial Services.

The Marketing Director of Kelly Services UK, Steve Girdler said the survey shows importance of understanding the motivations of today’s workers, getting the right mix of people, and thinking differently about how to motivate for a high performing workplace.

“Today’s workforce is changing due to many factors. The economy, a sluggish retail sector and confusion about the future of European trade all contribute to people feeling uncertain and concerned” Girdler said.

“These days people make career changes more than ever and more feel empowered to be a ‘free agent’ to pursue a freelance path. Understanding these motivations and helping employees chart their own course in the company with proper training and incentives is key.”

“Today’s society is more about instant gratification—people’s overall expectations are significantly higher than in the past. This carries over into what workers expect from employers. People want increased transparency from their employers with ethics much higher on the agenda. Employees need to feel valued rather than a cog in a machine.”

One positive element to emerge was the level of satisfaction with work-life balance in the UK with 58 per cent stating they were happy with this mix.

Just 36% of those surveyed were happy with the level of pay, and only 24% were pleased with the health benefits available to them. 

Apart from salary, the greatest cause of disquiet with the UK workers was the lack of opportunity to expand skills and the lack of formal training provided.

Just over half (52%) approved of their employer’s ethical standards and practices.

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Kelly Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB) is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Troy, Michigan (USA), offering staffing solutions that include temporary services, staff leasing, outsourcing, vendor on-site and full-time placement. Kelly owns and operates 2,600 offices in 27 countries. Kelly provides employment for nearly 700,000 employees annually, with skills including office services, accounting, engineering, information technology, law, science, marketing, light industrial, education, health care and home care. Revenue in 2004 was $4.98 billion. Visit http://www.kellyservices.com