One third of Scots unhappy at work

A YouGov survey commissioned by Oxford Open Learning revealed that 35 per cent of Scottish respondents were not satisfied with their current job.

A total of 35 per cent of Londonders were also not satisfied with their working lives while workers in the north east of England appear to be the happiest: just nineteen per cent overall said that they did not find their jobs satisfying.

The UK average for job dissatisfaction in the UK was 27 per cent.

The survey, which quizzed 1,2 82 people aged 18 and over on their feelings about their jobs, revealed that in these money-conscious times, salary is still the biggest thing weighing on workers’ minds, with 55 per cent of those who were dissatisfied saying they do not feel they are being paid enough. However, it’s not all about money: 45 per cent were concerned that their job offers no career progression, suggesting that more people may be more willing to stay in their current jobs if they felt they had somewhere to go.

Job security and stress were also common answers, both of which were ticked by 35 per cent of respondents. 30 per cent also said they were unhappy with the level of benefits they receive, and the same proportion said that they felt the work was simply not what they want to do as a career. Long commutes (16 per cent) and rifts with co-workers (17 per cent) were notably rare choices.

Interestingly, the younger generation seem to be happier with their work than older folk: only 23 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 said they were not satisfied with their current job, but this proportion rises sharply to 33 per cent for 25 to 34-year-olds, the age group with the greatest levels of dissatisfaction. This may reflect the optimism and confidence many employees feel after leaving school or university, before the realities of working life set in a few years later and people begin thinking about what they really want to do with their lives.

“There are many reasons people may not feel satisfied with their careers, but in the current economic climate many of us may be reluctant to change career direction,” said Dr Nick Smith, Courses Director at Oxford Open Learning. “It’s particularly interesting that so many people are concerned about a lack of opportunities to progress in their current careers - this suggests that employers may be able to retain workers for longer if they can offer clearer paths to promotion.

“However, we’d like to underline that it’s never too late to change direction if you’re unhappy with your current job.”