Generation Y increasingly disillusioned with workplace

News Article - 08 September 2010
Category: Business

Recent research from Badenoch & Clark reveals increasing workplace disillusionment amongst Generation Y workers. 32% of the 16-24 year olds surveyed admit not trusting their employer to deliver accurate information on business performance.

This is a 14% increase on last year's figure, suggesting Generation Y workers are losing trust in employers and becoming more disenchanted with their jobs. Some industry experts have blamed this on the negative effects of recession; companies that experienced widespread redundancies, for example, have reported lower levels of CEO trust amongst employees.

Broken down by profession, legal workers were particularly distrustful: 37% of employees across all age ranges claim to distrust most or all of what their employer says regarding business performance. A further 26% trust only 'parts', whilst 11% trust their employer totally.

At the other end of the scale, 23% of both sales and marketing and administration and clerical professionals totally trust their employers, whilst a small minority of HR professionals (6%) distrust their employers.

The survey will come as a blow to public sector organisations, which are already struggling with the fallout from Government spending cuts. Public sector workers are experiencing uncertainty with regard to current and future employment, and are particularly uneasy as to where and when future spending cuts will hit hardest.

Yet both public and private sector companies must consider the implications of employee disillusionment and its potential effects on productivity. This research highlights the difference in expectations amongst different age groups, and how workers at varying life stages can respond differently to workplace developments. Employers must handle this diversity efficiently or risk alienating parts of their workforce and losing productivity as a result.

Managers need extra time to engage effectively with staff - one-to-one meetings are a superb way to gauge expectations but these require time that is often unavailable in the post-recession climate. Access HR software automates many month-to-month HR tasks, such as recruitment and vacancy records management, freeing up man-hours that key managers can use to engage more effectively with staff.

For more information, please call Access on 0845 345 3300.

Article keywords: Business news, Accounting software, business reporting, enterprise software, access group, access accounting, HR software, human resources, recruitment

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