Employees in the UK are feeling pessimistic about the future because of the vote to leave the EU, a survey by the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, reveals.
Many Brits believe their jobs are now less secure since Brexit. Credit: Fotolia
The survey asked just over 1,000 working adults a range of questions, including how they felt about the future as a result of the UK’s vote to leave the EU. Overall, 44 per cent of those responding said they felt pessimistic about the future, with pessimism being particularly high amongst public sector workers (61 per cent), voluntary sector workers (58 per cent) and people aged 25-34 (63 per cent).
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Elsewhere in the survey, more than one in five (22 per cent) employees said that they felt less secure in their job as a result of the UK’s vote to leave the EU, compared with just 3 per cent who felt more secure. Again, this insecurity was particularly evident in the public sector, where a third (33 per cent) of employees said they felt less secure because of the Brexit decision.
This insecurity was reflected in the recognition amongst workers that they need to update their skills. One in five (21 per cent) said that they felt they now need to learn more skills after the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
Ben Willmott, Head of Public Policy at the CIPD, said: “This survey shows that Brexit has proven to be a seismic event in people’s working lives and reveals that there is significant level of pessimism in the immediate aftermath of the vote. This is especially prevalent amongst public and voluntary sector workers who are already showing signs of feeling less secure in their roles and expect the economic consequences of Brexit to adversely affect their jobs.
“Hopefully, as the political and economic situation becomes clearer, this will subside, but in the short term there is a clear need for UK employers to do more to engage with their workforce about the likely effects of Brexit on their organisation. The survey exposes clear signs of worry among the UK workforce and, if left unchecked, could lead to associated issues such as stress and anxiety.
“Line managers have a really important role in ensuring that the wellbeing of their staff is front and centre in their minds, and that their organisation has the correct culture and structure in place where people can easily raise their concerns and be heard.
“On a more positive note, the evidence that employees feel they now need to upskill as a result of the UK’s vote to leave the EU demonstrates that employees are engaged with their learning and development needs. It’s vital that employers do not allow the uncertainty around Brexit to cause them to cut back on training and development for the benefit of their staff as well as the resilience of their organisation as a whole in the months of uncertainty ahead.”
