High rates of employee turnover

Rising Rates of Employee Turnover are a Big Problem for UK Firms

A recent poll has revealed some shocking details about the recruitment market and the current rate of employee turnover in the UK. The poll found that an almost unbelievable 98 percent of workers had changed jobs over the last five years. Of those employees, millennials were those most likely to have switched positions, with 21 percent making a change over the last 12 months alone.

Millennials are increasingly choosing to shun the ‘job for life’ mentality of previous generations and are instead placing more importance on job satisfaction and happiness. In fact, more people are leaving their jobs due to unhappiness than ever before.

The UK’s workplace unhappiness epidemic

Although rates of UK employment are up, workplace dissatisfaction is also on the rise. A recent survey by the benefits provider Personal Group found that over half (56 percent) of the 1,274 employees surveyed were unhappy in their current roles.

Those aged between 18 and 29 were revealed to be the unhappiest age group, with 54 percent admitting they were rarely or almost never keen to get to work in the morning.

However, the picture doesn’t really improve among older workers who are likely to be in more senior and better-paid positions. Almost half of those aged 30 to 49 are rarely or almost never happy at work, with efficiency and enthusiasm both experiencing significant drops when compared with 2017.

Why are UK employees so unhappy?

With record-high levels of employment, wages finally on the rise and regulatory protection for employees better than ever before, you’d be mistaken for thinking that UK employees were riding the crest of a workplace happiness wave. However, it seems the opposite is true. While flexible working schemes, bright, colourful offices and unrivalled health and wellbeing benefits are designed to make us happy, it seems they’re having the opposite effect.

One common reason that’s cited for employee unhappiness is simply that modern workers, and particularly millennials, expect too much. Although office jobs may have improved, our expectations have far outstripped them, and perversely, education is not helping. In fact, people with university degrees are unhappier at work than those without them.

Matters are being made worse by the well-intentioned actions of employers who are desperate for employees to be happy at work. They introduce environmental and societal initiatives in an attempt to engage their employees and even allow paid time off to do volunteer work, but still their employees are not happy. In fact, when done badly, research from Sussex University shows that these steps can make workers unhappier and more disenchanted than they were before.

The cost of high levels of employee turnover

Unhappy employees cause huge problems for UK organisations. They are less productive, less engaged and more likely to suffer from absenteeism and presenteeism. But the costs don’t stop there.

One report found that employee turnover can cost anything from 16 percent to 213 percent of the salary of the departing employee. That means it costs a minimum of £4,800 to replace an employee on a salary of £30,000 and get the new hire up to speed. Another report found that it can take up to two years for the new hire to reach the same level of productivity as the former employee, further denting the business’s bottom line.

So what can you do?

Employee turnover is often the result of the wrong hiring decisions being made. With competition for talented workers on the rise, some employers are making hiring decisions on the basis of a telephone conversation alone without interviewing the applicant in person. Predictably, the result can be a poor match in terms of skills and culture.

To lower employee turnover, it’s important to create strong relationships between employees and managers from the off. That process starts during the interview and should be continued through the creation of supportive company cultures and by providing regular feedback so employees know they are valued.

Find the talented bilingual recruits you need

At Linguistica Recruitment, we help employers across the south coast of England recruit the in-demand bilingual workers they need. To find out more about how we can help, or to discuss your requirements, please call 02392 987 765 or email info@linguistica-recruitment.com to contact our team.