The UK’s working population suffers more anxiety over their jobs than staff
employed in any other developed economy.
A survey by Right Coutts of nearly 10,000 staff worldwide, shows 28 per cent
of the UK’s workforce believe they could lose their job in the next 12 months.
The second most insecure workers are in the US, where 27 per cent are
concerned about the future of their jobs.
In Japan, 20.5 per cent of staff have job security concerns, while the
figure in Germany is 14.9 per cent, and 13.7 per cent in France.
Just 4 per cent of workers in Italy are worried about their jobs, and only
5.7 per cent are worried in Belgium and Norway, making them the most secure.
Jo Bond, deputy managing director at consultancy Right Coutts, said staff in
the UK and the US feel least secure about their jobs because employers have
more power to hire and fire in these countries.
"This survey shows that job insecurity is being felt most by UK staff,
despite the recent fall in unemployment seen in UK government figures,"
said Bond.
"Workers in some countries – notably Belgium and Italy – are less
worried about redundancy, perhaps due to the existence of stronger laws
protecting employees’ rights in those countries.
"By contrast, the US and UK job markets are more flexible, and
employers have more power to ‘hire and fire’."
However, the study also reveals that UK workers are relatively optimistic
about their chances of obtaining similarly paid jobs if made redundant, with 21
per cent believing this would be easy, compared to just 4 per cent in Germany,
and 8 per cent in Italy.
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By Ben Willmott
