Staff shortages and performance levels are major threats to UK business, and are causing sleepless nights for many senior managers.
A survey of 200 senior executives by consulting firm Cap-gemini showed that 69% of UK managers consider staff performance and shortages to be major threats to their business, with almost 43% being kept awake at night as a result.
The Red Eye Report also shows that 63% of respondents lose sleep worrying about their own futures, with more than a third (35%) admitting the stress was so bad that, given the option to start again, they would choose a different career altogether.
Respondents were also sceptical about government plans to pass legislation on family-friendly working. Only 19% thought it was a good thing while almost a third (32%) saw it as a bad thing.
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Ian Jordan, head of consulting services at Capgemini, said: “It’s harder than ever to manage and motivate the workforce. In recent years, employers faced with the vagaries of the economic downturn were caught in a cycle of cost cutting and saving. This had an impact on people’s stress levels, sense of job security and their perception of their employer.
“In an upturn, the challenge is how to change that perception quickly, as employees become much more proactive in managing their own careers,” Jordan said.
