Job satisfaction is at rock bottom: what can you do?

Employees are feeling more insecure and under pressure at work than at any time the past 20 years. How can you address your employees’ fears and stress?

Are your workers feeling more insecure and stressed than ever before? The 2012 Skills and Employment Survey from the UK government shows British workers are at an all-time low for job satisfaction and security.

According to a survey from the CIPD, workers in the voluntary sector are bucking the trend, despite that sector's increasing job insecurity.

The Employee Outlook found engagement among employees is partly driven by an affinity to their organisation's core purpose, where the voluntary sector might be expected to have an edge, but more importantly by open and honest management teams and cultures of mutual trust and respect, where the private and public sectors have no reason at all to lag behind their voluntary counterparts.

"The decline in job satisfaction and employee engagement makes for worrying reading for businesses, the economy and wider society,” Peter Cheese, chief executive at the CIPD, said. “But the voluntary sector appears to be bucking this trend, with valuable lessons to be learned for the private and public sectors.”

By embracing a more open and honest culture, where employees feel trusted and know what is happening within the organisation, a company can help improve employee trust, engagement and loyalty.

“What's good for people is good for business - and if we can embrace that truth to build cultures in which people want to work and are unified by a common purpose, we can not only prevent catastrophes, we can truly build more sustainable economic growth," Cheese said.

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