Nearly a third (31%) of British workers are unhappy at work and cost their employers more than £40 million a day* in daydreaming or trying to find a way out of their job, new research shows.
The research, commissioned by learndirect Careers Advice, reveals the state of the nation’s satisfaction levels across different jobs from plumbers to fitness instructors to accountants. When asked to rate the factors that made them unhappy at work, a third (33%) stated that being in a ‘dead end’ job through a lack of career progression & challenges was the biggest reason. Poor salaries and perks such as holidays was an issue for 25% of workers and 23% said they spent too much time behind a desk with no opportunity to meet new people.
And being dissatisfied with work has a knock on effect in every day life making two in five people (41%) irritable. 21% find they can’t sleep, 6% say it even affects their sex life and 10% often comfort spend to compensate for the lack of job satisfaction.
The research also showed:
Workers are spending more than £100 a month on clothes and shoes, food, beauty treatments and holidays
More than a third (38%) waste on average 25 minutes each day doing things other than work - 22% of people chat to friends, 15% day dreaming, 14% surf the net and one in ten (11%) spend hours every day looking for another job.
It’s so bad for some that over a third (36%) have their weekends ruined because of the dread of Monday mornings.
Donna Dawson, psychologist and behavioural expert, who has worked with learndirect Careers Advice to create a test to measure your own job satisfaction levels says:
"We all have a moan now and again about our jobs, but when the dissatisfaction starts to negatively impact on our lives it's time to take action. It doesn't have to be radical action, there are lots of options to change what you're doing and how you feel. The most important thing is to focus specifically on what we want to change - writing these things down helps us to decide whether these things can be changed within our present job, or whether we need to move on. Getting advice and support from friends and family or a professional organisation is essential to help keep your frame of mind positive, and to achieve your goals".
To get a more satisfying job, new qualifications are cited as the route to success, closely followed by being your own boss or retraining for a new career.
Gareth Dent from learndirect Careers Advice adds:
“This research uncovers a significant number of people who want to change their career but don’t know where to start and with nearly one in twenty people admitting that their dissatisfaction has got worse in the last year, it’s a worrying trend. However, it seems people know what they want in a job – getting on with colleagues, doing something worthwhile and being challenged top the wish list – which is really positive. It can feel daunting to make that first step which is why a service like learndirect Careers Advice is a good place to start. Our trained Career Coaches can offer advice on how to get the job you really want, including access to information on almost one million courses if you need to improve your skills".