Marvin OnumonuFalling worker confidence in the UK is putting business growth at risk, with more than a third (34%) of senior managers worried they could lose their jobs in the next six months, according to research from ManpowerGroup.
ManpowerGroup’s Global Talent Barometer found most UK managers (86%) saw economic instability, restructuring and mass layoffs as the biggest threats to their careers.
Anna Spaul, director of data innovation at ManpowerGroup UK, said: “For months, the focus has been on how changes to National Insurance Contributions, the National Minimum Wage and broader economic pressures are affecting businesses.
“But the real impact is being felt by workers and that impact is ‘worry’. Employees are grappling with uncertainty on all sides: shifting legislation, the rising cost of living, economic instability and rapid technological change.
“It’s no surprise they’re anxious, not just about their own roles, but about the future of entire industries. And that level of worry is bad for the economy, bad for business, and deeply damaging to a modern workforce.”
Spaul added: “As business leaders face increasing pressure to do more with less (illustrated by a 12% drop in hiring confidence in Q3 across the UK), the data is clear.
“Confidence is no longer a soft metric, it’s a core indicator of workforce strength and future economic performance.
“When confidence erodes, so does the capacity for change, creativity and commercial growth.
“The cost of inaction may be measured not just in job losses, but in missed opportunities, stalled transformation and lost competitive edge.”
He said: “We’re not at the point of no return. There’s a real opportunity for employers to act now, to invest in upskilling, embrace flexible, adaptive work models, and reconnect workers with purpose and stability.
“Workforce confidence is no longer a peripheral HR issue. It’s central to business resilience in an increasingly unpredictable world.”
Additionally, 41% of UK workers worried their jobs could be replaced by automation or technology, while 34% said their skills were becoming outdated.
Less than half (47%) had done any training in the past six months.
Nearly one in five UK workers said they dreaded going to work each day, with Millennial women seeing the steepest drop in satisfaction in the last year.
Workplace policy has added to the pressure, with 66% of UK workers now required back in the office at least part of the week.
8% said this could make it impossible to stay in their current job.
