Levels of professional fulfilment are lower in the UK than in some other major European nations and English-speaking countries around the world, according to research from Randstad (http://www.studiotalk.tv/show/fulfilment-at-work).
The specialist recruitment firm warned that low job satisfaction could increase turnover and absenteeism, potentially creating a problem for organisations trying to improve employee absence management.
Based on interviews of some 45,000 employees across the UK, Europe and the English-speaking world, Randstad revealed that 67 per cent of British workers felt satisfied with their employer in the third quarter of 2013.
This is lower than in France and Germany (68 per cent), the Netherlands (73 per cent) and Belgium (74 per cent).
Respondents in Australia (70 per cent), New Zealand (73 per cent), the US (74 per cent) and Canada (77 per cent) also expressed higher levels of happiness with employers than people working in Britain.
Taking into account the fact that the UK's working population currently stands at 29.84 million, Randstad concluded that some 9.85 million employees are professionally unfulfilled.
Highlighting the potential repercussions of the problem, the recruitment agency noted that low job satisfaction is likely to increase absenteeism and consequently affect an organisation's bottom line.
The latest data from the Confederation of British Industry shows that some 160 million working days are lost to absence every year, leading to a total direct cost to the economy of £14 billion.
Mark Bull, chief executive of Randstad UK, said: "We are issuing a rallying call to employers to join us in action to address the state of fulfilment at work in the UK.
"Our report is designed to provoke debate but we have identified a number of practical solutions to these issues, and given employers an outline of what needs to change going forward to increase the professional fulfilment of their workforce."
The company's recommendations for employers struggling with this problem include focusing recruitment efforts on older and younger workers, striving for gender equality and introducing some variety into staff workloads.
