Member Article

Two in five UK workers feel unappreciated by their employers, new study reveals

A new report has discovered a quarter of UK office workers are unproductive for up to two hours every day, roughly equating to a staggering 40 million hours of lost productivity across the UK each week.

The findings mean, in comparison to the same poll last year, the average UK office worker has lost an extra 30 minutes a day - according to office product specialists Fellowes who conducted the report.

The research supports the Office of National Statistics recent findings which highlight that between January 2018 the UK saw just 0.1% growth in GDP. Previously, the Bank of England also claimed that Britain has endured the worst decade for productivity growth since the 18th Century

The Fellowes poll asked 1,250 UK office workers to find out what they thought was causing Britain’s output blip and discovered the following.

Undervalued staff

The study, which polled people from various industries including finance, legal marketing and IT, found that a huge 40% of people felt their work wasn’t valued by their bosses. Women feel less valued (43%) than men (36%).

Poor management & unproductive bosses

A significant 60% of those polled felt like their companies had serious productivity problems, with 40% stating that their employers weren’t doing enough to tackle output issues. Interestingly, 40% of workers also said they were more productive than their bosses.

Negative office environments

On top of the aforementioned issues, what will worry HR professions most is nearly 65% of people said their office environment had a negative impact on their health. And almost half (46%) claimed their employers didn’t care about their wellbeing. Around the same percentage (45%) said their companies don’t provide them with the right tools and equipment to be comfortable at their desks.

Fellowes UK & Ireland Sales and Marketing Director, Darryl Brunt who conducted the study, said:

“The makeup of every workforce is different, but it is clear that employers need to do more to help get the best from their employees. To unlock people’s productivity, workers must not only have the right equipment, but they must feel valued and supported. By establishing smarter ways of working, employers can build an empowered workforce which best serves its customers.”

What do workers think would make them more productive?

Almost all of respondents (95%) were in agreement that good office equipment would sufficiently improve output, as over one in three (36%) said they didn’t have access to the right equipment at least once every week (compared to one in five in 2017). A quarter of those asked said that fewer meetings would also improve output.

When asked if a four-day working week would improve productivity, a staggering 65% agreed. Over two thirds (77%) of Generation Z (16-24-year-olds) claimed a four-day working week would make them more productive, hinting that businesses must address working hours for the next generation.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Adam White .