The People Bulletin

Job satisfaction among UK employees has increased since 2006 in spite of the recession, according to a recent survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The new Employee Outlook survey of more than 3,000 people revealed that the net proportion of employees satisfied with their job has climbed to +46 from +26 in 2006. The proportion of people claiming their job makes them feel cheerful most or all of the time has also risen.

However, beneath this initial optimism lies the caveat that people who are happy to still have a job in the downturn may be turning a blind eye to daily gripes and grumbles. ‘Job satisfaction may have edged up – but this could be the employee equivalent of a fixed grin,’ said Ben Willmott, Senior Public Policy Adviser and co-author of the survey at CIPD. ‘Employees grateful to have a job at all are less likely to grumble, and more likely to see scorched earth rather than greener grass on the other side of the fence.’

In fact the survey highlights some corrosive effects the recession is having on workplace morale and wellbeing – 52 % surveyed cited increases in work-related stress and 38% noted a rise in so-called ‘office politics’. Three quarters of respondents felt their organisation had been affected by the recession in some way.

Fear of redundancy is causing substantial disgruntlement, with 37 % of employees worried about losing their job and the majority believing a new job would be hard to track down. Nearly four in 10 employees reported redundancies or planned job cuts at their organisation while just under a fifth revealed reductions in training (17 %) or frozen pay (18 %).

The proportion of people made worried or tense by their job had increased since 2006, and nearly six in 10 employees said they were worried about the future. ‘Without action to tackle some of the stresses and strains that are clear in our survey, employees could find employee health and wellbeing deteriorating,’ said Mr Wilmott, ‘and employee engagement tailing off at precisely the time they need all hands to the pump to survive the recession and thrive in the recovery.’

The full survey can be downloaded here:

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/general/_employee_outlook