Taking Control (c) R Dennison May 2013

According to the latest figures UK unemployment is up to 2.52m.  Perhaps it is no coincidence then that UK employees are anxious about their situation.  Research conducted by Cardiff University academics provides a snapshot of what is causing those anxieties.

No surprises about the findings: a reduction of job status; actual job loss; and unfair treatment in the workplace are preying on respondents’ minds.  I think a bit of extra planning might help address these concerns and help employees feel like they have more control over their future.

As a first step it might be worthwhile keeping a lifeplan up to date (or even creating one in the first place), so it is easier to chart the longer term goals that you want to pursue.  If the prospect of pay cuts / producing more-with-less resources / job loss causes worry, it has to be a good idea to have some information in your back pocket, including:

– What reward does your present job provide?

– How does that reward fit with your key values?

– What else might you do if the job was to abruptly disappear?

The sudden shock of a major change – like redundancy – would be reduced I think if the jobholder was already clear about what else it would take for them to live their best life.

Questions like those above, and the answers they generate, help build that reserve of self-knowledge.

The Guardian’s coverage of the research findings are available here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/may/20/british-workers-less-secure-more-stressed

(Details of the 2012 Skills and Employment survey, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills is available here at http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/ses2012/  )

Related articles

• UK unemployment up to 2.52 million (bbc.co.uk)