More employees fear losing their jobs this year amid a challenging economic environment, according to a new report.
Randstad UK researched the views of 27,000 workers from 34 markets across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas and revealed that more than 42% of workers fear losing their jobs – compared to 28% a year ago.
The growing fear of UK job cuts contrasted with the confidence of workers in North America, where only 28% were worried about redundancies. In Japan, fears are more muted, with only 18% of workers fearing the threat of redundancy. Elsewhere in Europe, only 36% and 37% of workers in Portugal and Poland are worried by the threat of job losses respectively.
Career-wise we are entering the most challenging time for most since the pandemic.
When asked if they would quit their job if their employer didn’t take into account requests for better conditions, only 32% of workers agreed, down from 36% last year. Last year, 56% said they would quit a job if they felt like they didn’t belong there — that number has since fallen to 24%.
Victoria Short, Randstad’s chief executive in the UK & Ireland, said: “The concerns of workers are not entirely unjustified. It’s clear the jobs market is cooling with softer-than-expected UK wage data out this week. This is on top of the news that inflation in the UK rose in December. This plays a part in the growing anxiety among workers here amid the continued cost of living crisis and pressures on employers. AI has started to upend many norms and expectations in the workplace. More than ever, workers need to learn new skills to fit into evolving businesses. Reskilling is no longer a tool for career advancement but a tool for survival. It’s no accident that the most wanted skill development is around technology, including of course, AI. Career-wise we are entering the most challenging time for most since the pandemic. Either way, you will see more anxiety in the workplace this year.”
