Reporting on the Today Programme
on Radio 4, Stephen Cape, the BBC’s labour affairs correspondent, said
that less than a third of us are happy with our jobs, with the
unhappiest being from middle management and downwards.

Staff retention is said to be affected by this national lethargy,
with unwanted turnover at its lowest in organisations where employees
are happy.

A lot of this sounds obvious, companies with unhappy workers are
more likely to have a high turnover. A high turnover is in itself an
indication of a relatively prosperous nation; in that people have the
option to change jobs, rather than stay where they are miserable. So
maybe the fact that we moan and quit more than anyone else is because
we feel secure enough to do so in the knowledge we will find more work.

What might be slightly more surprising however is where the
responsibility lies: The report’s findings are said to lay the
responsibility for this lethargy at the feet of senior managers.

This means that turnover in the UK is no longer the sole
responsibility of the HR department! For us, this is the best news
we’ve heard. Staff retention is an issue that effects the entire
organisation and should be seen in that context.

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