Half of hospitality workforce unhappy in their jobs, claims report

IIP’s annual Jobs Exodus survey found that 65 per cent of catering and leisure employees are unhappy in their current roles, and 60 per cent would consider changing jobs this year.

The survey suggested that dissatisfaction was slightly higher in hospitality than other industries, with the results indicating that 60 per cent of the total UK workforce are unhappy and 57 per cent are considering a move.

Lack of job satisfaction and not feeling valued as a member of staff were cited as the top reasons for wanting to change roles in the sector. The survey also pointed to growing confidence over opportunities in the industry, with one fifth believing the hospitality jobs market has improved in the past year.

“The research should be a stark wake up call to many businesses,” said Paul Devoy, head of Investors in People. "These companies must work hard to retain the staff they have and also put the effort into attracting top quality talent from elsewhere.”

Competitive jobs market​

Martin-Christian Kent, executive director at People 1^st​, questioned whether dissatisfaction levels are as high in hospitality as the research – which was based on the views of just 221 hospitality employees - might suggest.

“The figures do seem quite high. Our research suggests that the problems with staff retention are coming from the transient way we are recruiting – so we are recruiting a lot of students – rather than the fact people don’t like what they find when they join the industry,” he told BigHospitality.

However, he said the industry couldn’t ignore the ‘wider pressure’ to attract and retain staff in a competitive jobs market.

“Currently our research is showing that the cost of labour turnover in the industry is about £274m, so it is a huge cost,” he said.

Research by People 1^st​ has found that employers which are able to demonstrate career progression opportunities and offer training and performance reviews are much more likely to retain staff.

“We also need to focus on getting good managers in place,” Kent added. “We have a very young management base and are much more likely to report that they are struggling to fill management positions than other sectors. If we don’t get the right managers in place it will be very difficult to keep staff and retain them.

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