With a number of multinational companies based in the United Kingdom, the workforce is more diverse than ever. Wages offered are attractive to the employees. The benefits are understandably better. Facilities, training and work conditions are also better as standards are needed to be adhered to. Government and private organisations work hand in hand to ensure that laws, policies and systems are practiced and carried out. As a testament to this, a number of skilled labourers also migrated to the United Kingdom from countries such as India, Philippines and Pakistan due to the more favourable working conditions in the UK.
This may come as a huge surprise then that in the latest survey of 2000 UK employees commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) revealed that relationships between employers and employees in a number of workplaces are described as having poor communication, trust is at low levels which leads to underperformance, low productivity and high staff turnover.
In a book called Working Life: Employee Attitudes and Engagement 2006 written by Catherine Truss, Emma Soane and Christine Edwards from the School of Human Resource Management at the Kingston Business School, Kingston University and Karen Wisdom, Andrew Croll and Jamie Burnett from Ipsos MORI. The authors believe that the main problem in HR practices in UK revolves around communication and trust. In so many ways, it is similar to a marriage under stress:
"We just don't talk anymore" Almost one-third of employees (30 per cent) say they rarely or don't get performance feedback; 42 per cent are not privy to organizational plans; only 37 per cent feel satisfied with the communication process.
"You just take me for granted" One-quarter (25 per cent) of employees feel their work is not appreciated; only 38 per cent feel appreciated by managers.
"You really get me down" Around 44 per cent of employees feel under intense stress at least once or twice a week; 22 per cent overall while 32 per cent of managers feels high levels of stress.
"The magic is gone" 43 per cent of employees are not satisfied with their relationship with their manager; 26 per cent don't want to go to work.
"I just can't trust you" 32 per cent of employees are dissatisfied with the management ; only 37 per cent shows confidence in the management and 34 per cent trust their senior managers.
"I want out" 26 per cent of employees feel dissatisfaction in their job; 47 per cent are searching for another job or thinking of leaving their current job.
Mike Emmott, CIPD employee relations adviser, said: "Lack of communication means many employees feel unsupported and don't feel their hard work is recognized. As a result the A
sparkle has gone out of the relationship, damaging productivity levels in many UK businesses."
Other key survey findings include:
Public sector
- 26 per cent of those working in the public sector feel very or extremely stressed (18 per cent only in the private sector)
- 43 per cent says their senior managers have a clear goals for the organization (compared to 52 per cent)
- 32 per cent shows confidence in senior managers and 29 per cent trust them (compared to 41 per cent and 39 per cent respectively)
- 28 per cent experience form of bullying and harassment (compared with 21 per cent in the private sector)
Mike Emmott commented: "Leaders in the public sector are under continuous pressure to meet efficiency targets and cut costs. But they will fail to deliver high levels of performance and customer service unless they also focus on the people management issues. Line managers need training to support their staff in order to help gain their trust and commitment."
Gender
- 44 per cent of women and 18 per cent of men are contracted to work fewer than 35 hours a week
- 58 per cent of women and 52 per cent of men are happy with their work-life balance
- 29 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men experience some form of bullying or harassment
- 41 per cent of women have confidence in their senior managers and 38 per cent trust them (compared to 34 per cent and 32 per cent of men)
- Women are more likely to act as advocates for their organizations - 73 per cent say they would be proud to tell people who they work for, compared to 68 per cent of men
Age
- Workers aged 55 and over are considered more engaged and less likely to take sick leave than younger employees (those under 35 are the least engaged age bracket of all those surveyed.)
- 47 per cent of employees under the age of 25 say they trust their senior management compared to just 29 per cent of those aged 45-54 and 31 per cent aged 55 and over
Despite its advanced technologies and more efficient human resource system, for human resource management in the United Kingdom to succeed some adjustments must be made in the employer-employee or employee/management-employee relationships by taking steps and making enough effort to establish a happier work environment.
