Print this page Send this to a friend Previous page

Nearly Half (49%) of British Workers Feeling Less Secure in their Jobs, New Survey Finds

Ref. PR-01697

2 February 2009 - According to a new report by specialist recruitment firm Robert Half, British finance professionals are feeling the pressure of these uncertain times more acutely than many of their international colleagues; with job insecurity, worries about the economy and waning optimism about their company’s prospects emerging as top concerns.

 

Economic gloom:
The annual survey of over 3,500 international finance professionals across 14 countries found that UK finance workers are amongst the most pessimistic around the globe, with 88% of UK respondents stating they are “concerned” about the health of the UK economy over the next 12 months.  Only respondents in Ireland were more downbeat than the British, with 90% expressing concern about the economy there, whilst a similar level of concern was shown by professionals in France (85%) and Japan (75%).

 

Company performance:
The impact of this concern is being felt at both company and individual level, with just 57% of British finance professionals claiming that they were “optimistic” about the future of their own company. Finance workers in Japan appear to be the least optimistic about company performance with only a gloomy 20% having a positive outlook about their company’s future, whilst respondents in Dubai and Brazil appear to buck the trend with a more up-beat (88%) and (73%) respectively, claiming be optimistic about their company’s future.

 

Personal potential:
On a personal level, a significant 49% of British finance professionals stated that they were “less confident about the security of their own jobs compared to 12 months ago” and 76% said that they were holding off their plans to change jobs.  Irish finance professionals once again appeared to be slightly more concerned about their jobs at 62%.

 

Broaden your horizons:
For those UK finance and accounting professionals willing to work abroad, the good news is that the research showed that there is still buoyancy.  In Dubai and New Zealand, where 36% and 31% of finance professionals, respectively, said that their companies would be hiring, opportunities remain in the job market.  Other countries that plan to hire include Hong Kong (31%), Brazil (30%) and Singapore (19%).

 

Phil Sheridan Managing Director of Robert Half UK said: “Finance and accounting provides a very transferable skill set, which allows movement across different industry sectors and countries.  For those willing to work abroad, there are opportunities to do so, and judging by our survey, finance professionals are open to this possibility.  Working abroad for a period of time presents not only an exciting opportunity from a lifestyle perspective, but can also add significantly to the value of one’s CV.”

 

Other findings from the research included:

  • Finance and accounting professionals believe the outside world has a low opinion of their occupation.  In the UK, 57% of survey respondents felt people viewed their roles as ‘boring’.
  • When describing their own profession, workers in accounting and finance said they view their peers as ‘professional’ (66%), ‘trustworthy’ (53%) and ‘commercially aware’ (29%).
  • More than two-thirds (69%) of British finance professionals said they are either ‘very’ or ‘rather loyal’ to their employers.  The most loyal workers were from Dubai and The Netherlands (84% each) and Ireland (82%).  In Japan, only 21% of workers reporting being either ‘very’ or ‘rather loyal’ to their employer.
  • Dubai has the most workers from abroad in its finance and accounting workforce, with 85% of workers there stating that Dubai was not their home country.  Brazil had the least, with only 2% of workers surveyed coming from other countries.
  • The top three countries in which British workers are interested in working are the United States of America (56%), Australia (54%) and Canada (42%).
  • The UK is the most popular work destination for New Zealanders (63%), Australians (55%) and Singaporeans (50%)

 

The global survey was conducted in autumn 2008 and includes responses from some 3,556 accounting and finance professionals from 14 countries - Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Dubai, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. A total of 400 respondents were interviewed in the UK.

Document: Nearly Half (49%) of British Workers Feeling Less Secure in their Jobs, New Survey Finds

Contact Us

For further information please contact:

Michelle Whitman
Robert Half International
Tel : 020 7331 2222
Email : michelle.whitman@rhi.net