Employees in the public sector are feeling the pressure of the Government’s spending cuts, with more than one in three thinking it is likely they will lose their job and seven in 10 having had their pay frozen or cut.
According to a survey of 2,000 employees by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the outlook for public sector staff is worsening. While a fifth of all employees believe they could lose their job this year, 31% of public sector workers think this – a jump of 7% since the last quarter.
In the private and voluntary sectors, however, redundancy expectations have remained largely static, standing at 17% and 22% respectively, compared to 17% and 23% last quarter.
More than half of employees report that their organisation has either frozen pay (46%) or cut pay (7%). Employees in the public sector are more likely to have experienced a pay freeze, with 63% saying this compared to 42% in the private sector.
Overall, the Employee Outlook Survey finds almost a third of staff saying their standard of living has worsened over the last six months compared to 10% who say that it has improved.
CIPD senior public policy adviser Ben Willmott said organisations needed to focus on developing high performing managers to keep staff motivated, engaged and resilient during these difficult times.
“With employees feeling the pinch financially, concerned over their job security and with fewer opportunities to move up or move on, employers need to deliver consistently high quality leadership and management on the front line. How managers communicate, consult and coach and develop staff is critical,” he said.
“If organisations don’t invest in developing high performing managers, they may find better managed competitors racing past on the road to recovery,” he said.
