January is one of the busiest months when it comes to recruitment and this year has been no different, as candidates take on the ‘New Year, New Me’ mantra and look for new opportunities.

In fact, according to our latest study, the majority of UK workers (84.4%) are currently looking for a new role, but while this is good news for businesses looking to strengthen their workforce, it also brings about potential issues for those that are having difficulty retaining staff.

In fact, rather worryingly, our study found that over a third (35.8%) of employees dislike their current job, with a further 35.1% admitting that they think about quitting their job frequently or often.

This could be a major blow for many businesses, which is why it’s important to have an effective plan in place to retain your staff. Below, I explore some of the top reasons as to why workers ‘hate’ their job, and explain how you can help your employees fall in love with their job again this year.

Management

Workers cited bad management as the top contributor to their decision to change jobs, and this is not overly surprising.  The old phrase ‘people don’t leave jobs, they leave bosses’ couldn’t be more true, so it’s important to keep a close eye on management styles within your company and the impact that any negative behaviour might have on your employees.

After all, our study found that over two thirds of workers feel that their boss has an impact on how much they like, or dislike, their job. Putting great managers in place and providing management training to senior staff can help to promote best practice in the workplace.

Company culture

If your business has an unsavoury culture, in which employees are expected to work every hour the sun and are not given any praise for their hard work, it’s inevitable that staff will want to start looking for other opportunities in which they feel appreciated for their work.

Having the right culture is extremely important and it can make or break your business. Organising staff events is key – but this doesn’t mean going overboard.

At CV-Library, we very much have a ‘heads-down’ culture during the working day but balance this out with a structured day that means everyone gets to leave the office at 5.30pm. We also ensure that we have monthly staff social events which are a great opportunity for everyone to unwind and celebrate their hard work.

Development opportunities

Some employees will inevitably get to a stage in their career where they want to take the next step up the ladder, and if you aren’t seen to be facilitating this, then it’s likely that they will want to find an employer that will. Development plans are crucial for staff and you should consider not only upwards moves, but also lateral.

After all, an employee could want to learn new skills in another area, and having regular one-to-one catch-ups can help to get to the bottom of what they really want from their career and how you might be able to make this happen in your company.

Overall, it’s clear that there is a range of factors which can get on top of workers, ultimately leading to them resenting their job and sadly, their employer.

As a business, it’s important to consider ways in which you can help your staff to fall in love with their job again, and help them embark on a happy and successful career within your organisation.

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library.