Employers urged to focus on training to increase job satisfaction

Almost five million Brits admit to a touch of ergophobia (fear of work) , with some of the nation’s top earners, lawyers and bankers,  dreading the morning alarm clock the most.

City & Guilds, the UK’s leading authority on vocational education and training issues, compiles the Happiness Index annually to track the satisfaction and fulfilment of the country’s workforce. This year the City & Guilds Happiness Index surveyed 1,000 UK employees, revealing that nearly a third of people (32%) claimed that they were not particularly happy at work giving a satisfaction rating of less than 7 out of 10. At the bottom of the pile are HR managers (2%), lawyers (4%) and secretaries (4%).

So what factors make us whistle while we work?  Nineteen per cent of us would like to “do something worthwhile” and almost one in six (15%) just want a more flexible workday. However, the report also shows a need to focus on training at work with, personal development identified as a key contributor to happiness:  8% of those surveyed cited that training and development would make their role more satisfying.

The survey also shows that employers are (as one might suspect) out of touch when it comes to gauging employee happiness – but not in the way you might think! Bosses scored their workers’ happiness lower than workers rated it themselves.  And when asked what they felt was key to a happier workforce, a quarter of employers (26%) said financial incentive, while only 17% of their employees thought the same.

Chris Humphries, director general of City & Guilds, comments on the results: “When asked to rate their workplace in terms of happiness, almost a third of people earning in the £10 - £15k bracket gave their job a 10 out of 10. Compare that to workers in the £40 - £45k income bracket, where less than 5% gave their workplace a 10. This indicates, and it may come as a surprise to some, that financial reward doesn’t always mean a happier working environment or employee.”

However, it’s not all bad news as the City & Guilds Happiness Index also reveals a more contented side to our British workforce as the dawn of a new workday brings joy to hairdressers. A cheerful 57% admitting they look forward to returning to work after a day off.  The nation’s happy coiffeurs are closely followed by beauty therapists, early years and childcare workers and plumbers.

And nearly half of the happiest bunch in the pile, the hairdressers, scored training in their workplace with a whopping 10 out of 10! Whereas the sore secretaries who rate their workplace happiness a sorry 6 out of 10, the lowest score in the study, gave workplace training and development a measly 5!

The City & Guilds Happiness Index shows a clear link between workplace happiness and training claims Humphries: “A quarter of all UK workers  have, or would, leave a position because of a lack of training and these results clearly demonstrate that some of the happiest workers are those who feel they have a lot of opportunities for professional development.

“It’s about time employers woke up to that fact as we all know a happy workforce is a productive workforce. Moreover, investing in training makes workers feel appreciated and, consequently, more loyal.

“A lot of companies, including City & Guilds, are placing increasing importance on the happiness and fulfilment of their staff. And rightly so. Most workers spend an average of 37 hours at work every week – which is almost two thousand hours per year, and that’s a lot of time to be spending in a job where you’re not happy.”

-Ends-

Notes to editors
The research was undertaken by MyVoice in March 2007 and is based on a sample of 1,000 employees – 10 in academic professions and 10 in vocational occupations and 200 employers.

Vocational workers include skilled practitioners and craftsmen and craftswomen such as beauty therapists, builders, butchers, care assistants, chefs, electricians, hairdressers, interior designers, mechanics, plumbers and secretaries.

City & Guilds (http://www.cityandguilds.com/ ) is the expert and leading authority in vocational education and training - both in the UK and beyond. 
In operation for the last 130 years, City & Guilds is the UK’s leading awarding body for work-related qualifications. Twenty million people in the UK have City & Guilds qualifications, and the organisation awards a further 1.5 million qualifications to learners every year.  

City & Guilds also enables people to develop essential leadership and management skills through its Institute of Leadership and Management, which is the largest provider of management qualifications in Europe.

City & Guilds creates prosperity from skills for individuals, business and nations within and beyond the workplace.

The City & Guilds Happiness Index – Happiest professions

Position Profession Average happiness rating 2006 position
1 Hairdressing 8.69
2 Beauty Therapist 8.02
3 Early Years and Childcare Worker 7.79
4 Medical Doctor/Dentist 7.45
5 Plumber 7.37
6 Electrician 7.32
7 Construction 7.2
=8 Leisure / Tourism
 7.20
=8 Media/New Media Creative/ Online 7.20
10 Accountancy 7.04

The City & Guilds Happiness Index – Professions that value training and development

Position Profession % Who value training and career development
1 Medical Doctor/Dentist 35%
=2 Hairdressing 28%
=2 Beauty Therapist 28%
4 Human Resources 24%
=5 Law 12%
=5 Accountancy 12%
=5 Automotive 12%
8 Catering / Chef 19%
9 Nursing 17%
10 Early Years and Childcare Worker 16%

THE UK’s HAPPIEST WORKER PROFILE
• Female (average happiness score 7.19/10)
• Hairdresser (average happiness score 8.69/10)
• Under 30 (average happiness score 7.20/10)
• From North East (average happiness score 7.46/10)
• £10 – £15k (average happiness score 7.61/10)

THE UK’s UNHAPPIEST WORKER PROFILE
• Man – (average happiness score 6.88/10)
• Secretarial/PA/Administration (average happiness score 6.13/10)
• 30-39 year old – (average happiness score 6.89/10)
• From Yorkshire & Humberside – (average happiness score 6.65/10)
• £45,000-£49,999 – (average happiness score 6.37/10

REGIONAL BREAKDOWNS

SOUTH WEST
One in five South Westerners seek flexi-time over financial reward!

Money doesn’t bring happiness! Well, this is certainly the case for those in the South West whose workplace happiness is heightened with flexible working conditions. However, the happiness blip causing almost one in three (31%) of workers in Bristol to fall below national happiness levels could be due to the lack of awareness on what makes employees tick. Nearly two thirds of employers didn’t even consider flexible working conditions as an important factor for employees.

SOUTH EAST
Deficient training equals despondent employees for one in three South easterners!

Sadness has swept over the southeast with a third of workers (33%) slipping below the average level of happiness at work. Over half of employees from Oxford (52%) are dissatisfied with the training opportunities available to them and over one in four (27%) feel their skills are underused.

LONDON
Content Cockneys find joy in their job!

Happy Londoners can’t get enough of their jobs, with nearly a third (31%) actively looking forward to returning to work after a few days off.  The 60% of Londoners, who are above the average happiness level, buck the trend with the majority of happy workers residing in the North.

EAST ANGLIA
Ergophobia strikes 21% of East Anglians
 
With only 12% of employers in Norfolk recognising the importance of worthwhile work to their employees, it’s no surprise that one in five East Anglians suffer from back to work blues. A staggering one in three from Norfolk claimed there was a lack of training within the workplace, another reason for resenting the return to work.

EAST MIDLANDS
The East Midlands is tight-fisted on training!

Two in five people working in Leicester suffer from limited training opportunities. Whilst 51% of employees in the East Midlands consider training to be below average, employers fail to regard it as important factor of workplace happiness (54%).

WEST MIDLANDS
Warwickshire has the best of both worlds!

Work and play can’t keep Warwickshire employees away. One in four (28%), actively look forward to going back to work after a few days off. Balancing work and play can be very tricky, but those living in the West Midlands have come out on top with their work/life balance score (7/10) beating all other regions.

YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE
Yorkshire yearns for training!

Whining workers in Leeds and York are the UK’s most miserable employees according to research by City & Guilds. With only 6% of employees claiming to be ‘very happy’, the depressing statistics were mirrored in the poor training opportunities with a staggering one in 10 scoring training as ‘not good at all’.

NORTH EAST
Jolly Geordies top the polls for work place happiness!

Newcastle is the nations happiest region with one in five rating workplace happiness with full marks. Along with satisfaction in the training opportunities available (80% rate training as average and above) it makes no wonder that a third of Geordies are gagging to return to work after a few days off.

NORTH WEST
Happiness strikes North West workers

The North-South divide continues with workers in Manchester soaring above those in the South in terms of happiness at work. 72% of Manchurians are happier than average in the workplace. The happier the employee the less complaining there is with a staggering 59% rating training above average.

WALES
Wasted skills for the Welsh

Over skilled and unsatisfied sums up the Welsh workforce! With 41% feeling skills are underused, the joy in their jobs has slumped to a new low with 7% rating themselves as ‘very unhappy’ at work and one in five suffer back to work blues.

NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish suffer the worst workplace training in the UK

Nearly half of the Irish (44%) claim they have too little training and 41% feel their skills are underused. With the training they do get scoring well below par it makes no wonder over one in five dread the return to work (22%)!

SCOTLAND
Work terror haunts 95% of Scots

Scots top the polls with the unhappiest workforce. Only a meagre 5% rated their happiness at work as ‘very happy’. Sinking to the bottom of the league for happiness, the suffering Scots soared to the top of the table for back to work blues with 22% fearing the return to work after a few days off.