Four in ten staff 'may quit job'

Many find their bosses are unsupportive

More than four in ten UK employees are considering quitting their job in the next year, YouGov research for Investors in People suggests.

A lack of motivation at work is cited as a major problem, with unreasonable workloads, feeling underpaid and a lack of career path being blamed.

About half of staff said they had not been supported beyond their initial induction at work.

Meanwhile more than a quarter felt unsupported by their managers.

'Drift and depart'

Employees that had been with an organisation for just one to two years were most likely to want to leave, the study suggested.

"This research reveals a worrying picture, not only because such a significant proportion of UK employees are de-motivated, but because it suggests that valuable employees may be heading for the door," said chief executive at Investors in People.

Staff needed support and "effective" feedback on performance he added - especially when mapping out career paths and training.

"Without it, employees are likely to drift and depart rather than stay engaged with their organisation's objectives," Mr Jones said.

De-motivation was highest within larger companies, the report said, with 39% of people in organisations of 5,000 or more saying that they were either not very or not at all motivated compared with 30% in organisations of between 50 and 250 people.

Motivation was lowest amongst public sector workers, it added.