Unum: Job satisfaction down due to lack of benefits
UK workers have become less satisfied with many aspects of their jobs, including the access to benefits such as healthcare, according to Unum's annual Job Satisfaction survey.
Despite salary satisfaction among employees increasing since last year to 54.4% from 53%, the research found that levels of employee satisfaction have dropped in several different areas, including benefits offered, which fell from 38% to 35%.
Employees were also less satisfied with their workloads as well as their working environment, dropping from 58% to 56% and 66% to 63% respectively.
People were also less happy with the nature of their work, with 67% saying they were satisfied with it - a 4% drop compared with the result retrieved in 2006. The highest fall was seen in the level of employees' satisfaction with the amount of autonomy in their role, which was down to 47% compared with 52% last year.
Joanne Hindle, corporate services director at Unum, said she was concerned about what the survey had revealed. "Job satisfaction levels are not increasing and in many areas are actually decreasing. As there is much evidence to suggest happy workers are more productive, employers really need to take action to increase employee satisfaction where possible."
She added that increasing salaries alone will not help to make staff feel more content. "Benefits, work-life balance, an employee's sense of autonomy and company culture also have a vital role to play, and need to be taken seriously by organisations that want to stay competitive," Hindle concluded.
