Employee satisfaction hits record low in downturn

Workers’ ‘fixed grin’ in tough times reaches public sector, finds CIPD

A drop in living standards and job security has plunged workplace morale to record lows, according to the latest CIPD quarterly employee survey.

The study of 2,000 UK employees found that staff satisfaction, and employee confidence and trust in senior leaders have dipped as economic conditions damage job security and standards of living.

Staff satisfaction on the CIPD index - which measures the difference between positive and negative answers - dropped to +34 from +39 last quarter.

This is the lowest level recorded since the survey started in spring 2009 and a large fall from satisfaction scores of +42 just last November.

Scores for employee confidence in senior leaders fell to -1 from +3 in the quarter before, while staff trust in their employer dropped to -8 from -2.

Employees who said their living standards had worsened had risen to 37 per cent from 31 per cent.

Meanwhile, workers in the public sector were most likely to report this drop in buying power, 47 per cent, compared with 35 per cent in both the private and voluntary sectors.

Across all sectors, job insecurity had risen from 20 to 21 per cent. But this negative perception was most prevalent in the public sector where 30 per cent said they could lose their job.

Overall 21 per cent of respondents said their organisation was planning redundancies. But for the public sector alone this jumps to 58 per cent, with 29 per cent in the voluntary sector and only 10 per cent in the private sector.

The percentage of staff overall looking for a new job also increased from 19 to 24 per cent.

Claire McCartney, CIPD resourcing and talent adviser, said that the survey “underlines the importance of the Employee Engagement Taskforce launched by David Cameron last month” in boosting morale and performance at UK organisations.

However, she added: “The job satisfaction scores provide evidence once again of a 'fixed grin' effect, where workers tend to be more satisfied during tough times.

"This time public sector workers display that fixed grin, with job satisfaction among this group considerably higher (+38) than private sector workers (+33), despite – or perhaps because of – the turmoil being experienced by the sector.

“In these circumstances it seems employees are more satisfied simply to have a job.”

Source People Management