More than 2,370 employees across the UK were questioned - as part of a new study by the Centre for People, Work and Organisational Practice at Nottingham Business School, in partnership with the CIPD and YouGov - about issues they experience in the workplace and whether they feel able to raise them.
The respondents were asked which issues they experience, with the data showing that the most common issue experienced by 4 per cent of employees, is work pressure. Organisational change was cited by 29 per cent and 22 per cent who had raised an issue at work felt that they received no advice or support.
The study found that - for 62 per cent of the respondents - the most common method for them to have a voice is by one-to-one meetings with a line manager. Team meetings accounted for 49 per cent of employees expressing their concerns and only 17 per cent approached a trade union.
Professor Helen Shipton - lead researcher; Director of the Centre for People, Work and Organisational Practice and author of the report -‘Talking about employee voice: employees’ experiences’ - said:
“Nearly three in ten employees report low psychological safety at work. Employers therefore need to create safe environments for people to speak out, which can positively impact well-being and organisational effectiveness. Line managers are shown to have a critical role in this by enabling employees to voice their issues and ideas in one-to-one meetings. This shows a need for all line managers to be trained to understand the value of employee voice, encourage individuals to voice issues that are important to them, and to suggest improvements to the way things are done in the organisation, or share innovative ideas.”
Just half of the respondents were found to be satisfied - or very satisfied - with the amount of involvement they have in making decisions at work. Employees working in small and private organisations were more satisfied compared with those working in large and public sector organisations, but only a quarter stated that they feel free to express themselves - with another quarter stating that they chose to remain silent even though they had something they wanted to say.
Terms and conditions of employment - such as pay, holidays and flexible working - were cited by 38 per cent of employees as areas in which they had little or no control.
Daniel King - Professor of Organisational Studies at Nottingham Business School and co-author of the report - said:
“Our findings suggest that organisations offer limited scope for sharing matters that their employees consider to be important. However, there is a positive link between voice and job satisfaction - which means employers should create ways for all staff to have a voice, which can in turn boost their attitude and motivation at work. These findings are important in the context of creating good work and quality jobs, because they point towards factors that can empower or disempower people in shaping their working lives.”
