News Article - 23 September 2010
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According to new research, nearly one in two (47 per cent) UK workers plan to start looking for a new position before the end of the year, painting a poor picture of job satisfaction levels across the country. Amongst European workforces, only the Irish were less satisfied in their jobs, with 49.4 per cent looking to move to another position within the next few months.

The research, part of the Aon Consulting European Employee Benefits Benchmark, surveyed more than 7,500 workers across 10 leading European economies, including Belgium, France, Denmark, Norway, Ireland and the UK.

Across the rest of Europe, staff were less unhappy in their positions and less likely to actively look for jobs before the end of 2010. Job satisfaction looked to be highest in the Netherlands and Belgium, with 17.4 per cent and 17.5 per cent of workers respectively looking to job hunt over the next year.

Broken down by demographic, women (47 per cent) are slightly less likely to start job hunting than men (48 per cent). Generation Y workers (18-24) are most likely to seek a move ahead of older workers, who seem more content to wait and see how the economic recovery pans out over the next couple of years.

However, older workers that do plan to move positions will likely be senior workers with considerable transferable skills and industry experience, which will come as a blow to the company they depart.

Plans to job hunt also differed markedly by sector. Whilst 54 per cent of those working in engineering expect to look for a new job by the end of the year, only 21 per cent of logistics workers will actively look to move.

Low levels of job satisfaction and an overall willingness to job hunt could have a significant impact for UK businesses, many of whom do not have the cash necessary to keep pushing forward with recruitment drives and training new staff. Companies must ensure they dedicate resources to increasing staff happiness to reduce the chance of resignations. With September being one of the most popular notice periods, it's important employers start to effectively deal with staff concerns to improve retention figures.

Access business software can help by allowing firms to build up an accurate picture of the personal needs of staff. The learning and development software module within the HR solution brings together the areas of training, learning and development, and performance management. This ensures that organisations can monitor activities and maximise their knowledge of employee needs and abilities.

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

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