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Research reveals nation of employees who are ‘not bothered’ about their work

22/07/2012

By Daniel Hunter

Only 36% of workers trust their senior leaders and more than half (58%) of workers display signs of having adopted a ‘not bothered’ attitude to their work.

That’s according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s latest quarterly Employee Outlook survey of more than 2,000 employees across the UK, which asks employees a number of questions to gauge their level of engagement in the work place and attitudes to working life.

The survey found that employees who display ‘neutral’ engagement are about half as likely to go the extra mile with regard to workload and hours than those who are engaged* and nearly three times more likely to be looking for a new job**.

It also found a strong correlation between employee engagement and knowledge of the organisation’s core purpose***. These findings align strongly with the significant body of evidence cited in the MacLeod Review regarding the impact of employee engagement on performance.

Peter Cheese, Chief Executive at the CIPD, comments: “Given the number of examples reported in the media in recent months of unethical behaviours and corrosive cultures overseen by senior leaders, it is perhaps unsurprising to see trust in the workplace eroding. What’s worrying is the impact this will have on engagement. We know that strong employee engagement drives higher productivity and better business outcomes, so such a prominent display of ‘neutral engagement’ in the workplace should act as a real wake up call for employers.

“Now more than ever, organisations need to pay close attention to the impact the behaviours of senior leaders is having on the rest of the workforce and consider how they can improve corporate culture from the top down. The HR profession is uniquely positioned to help organisations properly understand existing cultures and behaviours, to re-examine and re-define corporate values and to revisit the... continued on page two >

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