Survey reveals British workforce is still facing the effect of the cost of living crisis

Fresh research by PwC from the Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, has given insight into the lifestyles and current state of just over 53,000 employees across the world in 46 different countries, including 2000 workers from Britain.

Part of the revelations includes that 23 per cent of workers in Britain predict they will move on to a new job within the next year, which is a five per cent increase from 2022.

The cost-of-living crisis has been detrimental to many in Britain, and PwC has revealed that workers here are still struggling to cope financially at this moment. Just under half of Britain's workers, 47 per cent, state that there is no extra money left over for them at the end of each month due to the expenses that must be paid.

An additional 15 per cent claimed that it is very difficult for them to manage all their bills each month and struggle to pay them on time in their household. On a global scale, the struggle is not quite as high with an average of 38 per cent of workers not having any money left over each month.

Furthermore, 12 per cent of workers in Britain work two or more jobs and the reason for doing so is largely due to the current economic picture with 70 per cent of them doing so to earn more money and strengthen their income. The current landscape has also led to pay increase demands becoming more prominent as 34 per cent of British staff have plans to request a pay rise in the next year, which is an increase of seven percentage points from last year.

Worldwide, there is also somewhat of a strong demand for pay rises as the percentage of employees asking for more money increased from 35 per cent last year to 42 per cent now.

Head of People and Organisation at PwC UK, Sarah Moore, spoke on how employers can retain staff and keep them satisfied amidst the economic state. She stated: "As economic conditions remain uncertain, employers will have less means to respond through pay, so will need to find more flexible and innovative approaches to engaging their staff. Organisations who continue to prioritise their people and invest in programmes focussed on wellbeing, flexible working, career progression and more personalised benefits will reap the rewards of employee loyalty."

Although larger salaries are a fundamental reason amongst Britain's workforce for wanting to find new employment, another major reason behind wanting to move on to a new job is because of job satisfaction. PwC's survey found that 21 per cent of Britain's workplace do not find their current job fulfilling and there is a desire for them to move despite the uncertain nature of the job and economic market.

Furthermore, 21 per cent of workers feel as if they have been constantly overworked in the past 12 months with 44 per cent putting that down to minimal resources. Other factors that have contributed to overworking include 33 per cent believing it is down to objectives that are not reasonable whilst 25 per cent put the overworking down to minimal management support.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) was another area touched on in the research with it demonstrating that British staff are not enthusiastic about it as only 19 per cent believe AI will help them increase productivity and efficiency levels at work. On the other hand, 31 per cent of workers globally believe AI will help them with productivity and efficiency.

Also, 27 per cent of global workers believe AI will present opportunities to become familiar with relevant new skills but only 17 per cent of British workers agree with that. An additional 12 per cent of British workers believe they will not be able to adopt AI-based attributes due to not being able to comprehend what is expected of them.

A reported 47 per cent of Britain's workforce are unaware of how AI could possibly affect their job within the next five years whilst 32 per cent think AI will not affect their job in the same time frame and 15 per cent are unsure if it will.

When it comes to opinions on whether AI will impact current jobs, there is a generational difference, as older workers, including 47 per cent of Baby Boomers (age 58-76) and 37 per cent of Gen-X (age 42-57), believe AI will not impact their current job. Whereas amongst younger workers, 28 per cent of Millennials (age 26-41) and 18 per cent of Gen-Z (age 18-25) believe AI will not affect their jobs.

AI is viewed in a better light by younger workers as 19 per cent of Gen-Z and 17 per cent of Millennials think new employment opportunities will be available to them as a result of AI.

Tax, Legal and People and Organisation Leader at PwC UK, Laura Hinton, touched on the growing impact of AI in the workplace. She pronounced: "Businesses continue to undergo massive change – accelerated by AI – and leaders are thinking about how they can use emerging technology to improve jobs, skills and workforce productivity. The survey shows a paradox that UK workers are less positive about AI than workers globally."

The survey also displays how skillsets within the British workforce will change in the coming years as 49 per cent of British employees believe that the next five years will see their current job requirements be significantly altered.

It appears that employees and employers in Britain are not on the same wavelength as 21 per cent of workers believe that their employer will not provide them with a chance to apply necessary skills which are valuable in their career. Additionally, 37 per cent of employees felt that their employer would not be able to hand out opportunities to learn transferable skills which would be necessary for their career lane.

Moore has outlined what companies should do to evolve into the next generation of employment, clarifying: "Businesses are going through a time of significant disruption- skills shortages, technology advancements and new ways of working means CEOs need to listen to their workforce to successfully adapt. Key to this will be the necessity of leaders to engage the workforce to this change and equip them with the skills of the future."