Irish financial services workers feeling the blues

Lack of job satisfaction among Ireland's financial services employees is rife, and firms will have to do more if they want to hang on to talented staff.

A study by recruiters Hudson, which took in responses from over 1,000 banking and financial services workers, found that one in three are dissatisfied in their roles.

Ireland's financial services industry has been in the midst of a skills shortage for some time now, and one reason cited for this is the relative infancy of the sector. The argument goes that, given time, the number of people entering the industry will increase year-on-year to the point at which the skills shortage isn't such a problem.

However, the Hudson survey suggests that those currently employed in financial services aren't about to keep it in the family. Around 30% think that there's more money to be had elsewhere, while 25% think other industries offer a better work/life balance.

Nicola Kavanagh, managing consultant of Hudson's banking and financial services team in Ireland, thinks the current economic climate has a lot to do with this gloomy attitude.

"I would imagine had the same selection of professionals been questioned when our economy was enjoying the recent boom the outcome would have been more uplifting," she says.

The job-hopping within areas like fund administration has slowed recently, as the number of new opportunities has shrunk and candidates have felt less confident about moving to new positions. But that doesn't mean employees won't move, says Hudson.

Key reasons for job dissatisfaction were a dearth of training and development, and a lack of clarity over promotion prospects.