UK workers increasingly unhappy with their lot

A report by the Work Foundation (formerly the Industrial Society) shows the UK workforce is dissatisfied with job prospects, pay, job security, working hours, and even work itself.

Based on results only just released from a survey undertaken in 2000, the report highlights that only 15% of employees were satisfied with job prospects, only 13% were satisfied with pay, and only 24% were satisfied with the hours worked.

Despite an increase in the practice of 'high performance management techniques', the foundation said that since 1992 satisfaction levels had fallen against every measure defining the economic and psychological contract between employees and their workplace.

Long hours are a possible root cause of dissatisfaction. Only a tenth of the UK workforce decide their own working times, and 75% of women and 82% of men said they were forced to work long hours to meet deadlines.

The foundation makes recommendations for increasing employee satisfaction. These include: improving the effectiveness of the top team implementing good performance management systems ensuring diversity moving from hierarchical to networked organizations, and giving employees more autonomy.