Workers worry over job security

13/10/2008

Almost eight in 10 workers are worried the downturn represents a threat to their job security, a new report has found.

The survey, by employment law firm Peninsula, found seven in 10 employees feel their finances are not as stable as they were two years ago, while the same number say they are working longer hours just to cover the cost of living.

And more than three quarters of workers also said they worry about not having enough savings to live comfortably once they reach retirement age, the survey found.

Peter Done, the firm’s managing director, said all jobs are currently at risk – even those in traditionally stable sectors, such as finance or the public sector.

“The rising cost of living has had a huge impact on the workforce and so they have to work longer hours in order to afford the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed,” he said.

“Those employers who have made redundancies are finding the willingness to work longer a bonus as they are able to increase efficiency by getting employees to work that little bit longer, rather than having the need to employ additional staff at a higher cost.

“There is always the risk of deteriorated performance through tiredness due to long working hours and employers should be careful of this; it is not worth keeping employees on longer shifts if they are not able to get the work done.”