A third of workers in the UK plan to change jobs in the next six months, according to recruitment company ManpowerGroup.
Its UK Global Talent Barometer shows that although 80% of workers feel that their work has meaning and purpose, 34% plan to look for a job in the next six months.
Almost seven in 10 (69%) said that they feel supported in their work-life balance and wellbeing by their employer, and 72% feel aligned with their organisation’s vision and values.
However, almost half (48%) reported feeling stressed every day. The highest levels of stress were in IT (64%), finance and real estate (63%) and healthcare and life sciences (61%), according to Manpower.
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People working in transport, logistics and automotive are least likely to report daily stress (43%) – and also the most likely to report good wellbeing (71%) and to be satisfied with their current salary (63%).
Employees in energy and utilities were least likely to be satisfied with their current salaries, with just 30% reporting this to be the case.
Self-employed workers were the least confident they had the skills to do the job properly – more than 90% of all other worker types said they felt they had the skills, compared to just 76% of self-employed workers.
Access to skills had an impact on employees’ likelihood to stay with an employer – 58% said they had not received any skills training in the past six months, Manpower found.
Many were worried about job security, with a quarter feeling at risk of unemployment in the next six months, and 24% worried they may be forced to quit their current job.
Petra Tagg, director at ManpowerGroup UK, said a feeling of purpose at work was not sufficient to retain skilled workers.
“Employers who do not provide clear paths for development and advancement in-role should expect their skilled talent to look for opportunities elsewhere, and our Talent Barometer shows this isn’t a small number of workers.”
Tagg added that the picture is complicated by the fact that many employers are pausing hiring while they work out the implications of the Employment Rights Bill and recent budget announcements.
“We know the UK employment market is struggling through a hiring recession and businesses continue to report record difficulty in finding candidates with the skills they need, making retaining skilled workers essential,” she said.
“It’s clear that any effective retention strategy must provide opportunities for employees to develop in their roles if they want to avoid a challenging and costly recruitment process.”
Globally, workers in Mexico drew the highest sense of meaning and purpose from their work, at 89%. Wellbeing was highest in the Netherlands, where almost three-quarters of employees (73%) said their work supported their wellbeing.
France had one of the lowest wellbeing scores at 61%, suggesting significant challenges in work-life balance and job satisfaction.
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