At the start of another economically challenging year, research conducted across the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands by collaborative work management software provider, Mindjet, encouragingly reveals the majority of employees within these regions - 54% of British, 53% of Swedish, and 60% of Dutch office workers - care passionately about the success of their employers.
In fact, 47% of the British workers interviewed believe they can influence business success, a figure surpassed by Swedish and Dutch employees at 56% and 53% respectively. The research, which was conducted by Opinium, was gathered from more than 2 000 British, over 1 000 Swedish and 1 000 Dutch office workers.
However, after two years of tough times, some seem to be feeling battle weary - 32% of UK office workers recognise they need to change their everyday working practices to drive success, but 19% are happy to admit they lack the motivation to do their job to the highest possible standard.
Of the Swedish sample group, a third (33%) acknowledged they need to change their way of working for greater achievement. At the same time, 11% confessed they lack the proper motivation to do their job to the highest possible standard.
In contrast, only 5% of the Dutch employees feel they are not motivated enough to operate in the best possible way, despite 22% of respondents indicating they are overworked, 19% complaining of a lack of funds, and 17% citing inefficient communication as a major barrier to better work performance.
Many businesses set themselves tough goals at the start of this financial year - further research by Mindjet shows that FTSE100 companies are striving to achieve operational efficiency, consolidation and growth in emerging markets, among others. The results of this research go some way to explaining why they have struggled to do so. While individuals recognise a need for change, a quarter of those asked said this hadn't happened because they "haven't got around to it". This attitude is not going unnoticed - almost a third of both UK and Sweden-based managers (30%) know they need to improve the way their team works, but struggle to motivate them to do so.
Tim Ohlenburg, senior economist, Centre for Economics and Business Research, reflects on UK business performance: "As this research shows, UK businesses have been working towards clear goals. However, economic growth has been disappointing this year, which has dramatically limited business profits and constrained expansion. The Eurozone crisis has also hampered aims to expand in emerging markets. Unfortunately, the outlook for 2013 is still lacklustre. Given that the fourth quarter GDP growth is likely to be negative at the end of this financial year, businesses are looking at a slow start. At a time when businesses are still striving to do more with less, they need the full support of their employees to do so, which means they need to address the issues identified by Mindjet as a priority."
Efficient working practices and communication are clearly key to achieving those all-important business goals and making 2013 a more positive year, explains Frank Reinelt, senior director for Northern Europe & Emerging Markets at Mindjet. "UK employees are not alone in feeling stressed (27%) and enjoying their jobs less (27%). Twenty-three percent of Swedish employees are also feeling the pressure, with the common perception across all three regions that they are being held back by a lack of resources and senior direction and inefficient communication.
"It is clear from the results of our research that - aside from the devastating impact of our ongoing economic issues on business - there are other, more internal issues that need to be tackled to ensure organisational success. For 2013, businesses will need to address these problem areas and seek ways to inspire employees to accomplish greater achievements."
According to Professor Nelson Phillips, Chair in Strategy and Organisational Behaviour, Imperial College London: "Motivated and engaged employees are at the heart of business success, and there's no time when this is more true than in tough economic times. Yet, it's just at this time that employee motivation and engagement drops as their employers lack the resources to support and reward them, while constant cost-cutting and pressure undermines morale and enthusiasm. The key to turning things around and getting 2013 off on the right foot is to focus on improving and developing working practices and efficient communication. Business leaders must not get bogged down in cost-cutting, but should strive to communicate a vision that moves employees beyond the current downturn and excites them about the future. This two-pronged approach will help re-engage a workforce badly affected by years of recession."
You can find out more by visiting www.changechallenge.co.uk to read the full report.
Mindjet helps people generate better ideas and work smarter, which aids brainstorming, the organisation of plans and the management of projects - anytime, anywhere. Both corporate (50%) and enterprise (38%) organisations say they found Mindjet to be really effective at helping them to achieve their objectives. For a free trial go to www.mindjet.com.
Editors' notes:
Mindjet analysed 50 randomly selected CEO statements from FTSE100 2012/2013 annual reports and found that priorities in order of importance are:
1. Operational efficiency
2. Consolidation
3. Expansion in emerging markets
4. Reorganising the business
5. CSR
6. Risk management
7. Product innovation
8. Delivering shareholder value
9. Sustainable growth
10. Top-line growth
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