More than 40pc of workers are unhappy in their jobs
Image: Yuganov Konstantin

More than 40pc of workers are unhappy in their jobs

15 Feb 2018

It seems a lot of us aren’t feeling the love in our place of work, as a recent survey by CV-Library reveals that 43pc of employees aren’t happy in their current roles.

Are you happy in your job, or does the din of your alarm in the morning fill you with dread at the realisation that you have to leave a warm bed and drag yourself to the office?

If the latter sounds pretty familiar, you’re not alone – a new survey reveals that 43pc of Irish employees are dissatisfied with their jobs. This is in spite of the fact that 91pc express the belief that it’s important to love what you do.

Jobs website CV-Library surveyed 1,200 employees for its research. When asked to identify why they don’t like their job, respondents cited the following reasons:

  • Poor company culture – 50pc
  • Not being paid enough – 27.3pc
  • No room for progression – 27pc
  • Boring daily routine – 11pc
  • Dislike the working hours – 9.1pc

Commenting on the findings, founder and managing director of CV-Library, Lee Biggins, said: “Job satisfaction plays an important part of keeping staff motivated and productive.

“As an employer, it’s vital that you are able to spot the signs of dissatisfaction or low morale and combat these issues right away.

“It’s clear that company culture, pay and progression are important to Ireland’s professionals.

“Be sure that you’re offering fair and competitive packages and that these tie in with creating a great working environment. Hosting social events is a great way to help staff blow off steam and build good relationships with their co-workers.”

Surprisingly, although many workers are unhappy in their current roles, 72pc don’t believe quitting is always the best solution.

More than half (55pc) of professionals in Ireland believe people should take steps towards addressing the situation at work before electing to leave. Three-quarters of those surveyed cited speaking to a manager as the best way to resolve issues.

This was followed by ‘reflect on what’s making you unhappy’, with 48pc of respondents feeling that this kind of introspection could be effective in remedying a situation. Putting yourself forward for a new project (27pc) and speaking to a trusted colleague (26pc) were also offered as potential solutions.

Ultimately, people do seem to want to make it work with their place of work if at all possible.

Biggins concluded: “It’s great to see that professionals in Ireland aren’t giving up without a fight, with many recognising that quitting is not always the answer.

“Being able to speak openly about your job is important and, as such, employers need to keep the lines of communication open if they hope to address any issues in a timely and effective manner.”

Eva Short
By Eva Short

Eva Short was a journalist at Silicon Republic, specialising in the areas of tech, data privacy, business, cybersecurity, AI, automation and future of work, among others.

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