According to a study of 1,271 Britons in full time employment by HR consultancy Reabur, 31 per cent admit that they are ‘unhappy’ in work, while a further 7 per cent say that they ‘hate’ their current job, with 12 per cent ‘impartial’.

In contrast, 22 per cent of those who took part in the study claim to ‘love’ their current job.

Of the total respondents that feel unhappy in their job, 29 per cent say it is because the role wasn’t ‘challenging’ enough.

A further 34 per cent of those who claim to be unhappy state that it is because they feel ‘bored’. In contrast 12 per cent say they are unhappy because their position is ‘too difficult’.

When asked ‘Is your current job your dream role?’ 9 per cent answered ‘yes’. A further two fifths, 41 per cent, of the respondents said ‘no’, while 16 per cent state that they didn’t have a dream job. The remaining respondents cited that they thought their current role was ‘almost’ their dream job.

More than a third (34 per cent) of the respondents who claim to not have their dream job admit that the reason for this is that they are simply ‘too lazy’ to search for the position; while 54 per cent say they are ‘too comfortable’ in their current role to search for their ‘dream job’.

Georgina Read, co-managing director of Reabur.com Georgina Read says, ‘It is concerning to see that so many of the respondents are unhappy in their job and even worse that some hate their current work as this is likely to impact on how well they perform in their role and potentially force the employer to make difficult decisions.

See also: The top ten most popular industries for job searches right now

Employees feel unvalued

Nearly three quarters of workers feel their employer either takes their efforts for granted or expects them to feel grateful for having a job, research finds.

According to a survey of 1,000 workers by recruitment solutions provider hyphen, employees say they continue to feel stretched as workplaces feel the pinch. As a result, employees are now looking for better pay to match their worth but two thirds (67 per cent) say a salary increase would encourage them to stay put.

In the absence of increased pay, a significant proportion say a menu of flexible benefits (56.7 per cent), better work/life balance (37.8 per cent) and clear career development opportunities (32.4 per cent) would discourage them from moving  on.

Hyphen managing director Zain Wadee says,’Despite economic uncertainty, we are seeing substantial workforce mobility across the private sector in particular and a significant number of employers are still looking to hire. Employers need to focus on employee engagement to ensure they keep their best people or those staff who feel undervalued will consider moving job.

‘Employee retention now deserves attention from employers. If not in a position to enhance pay packets, one powerful option is to maximise the benefits package offered to workers.’

Wadee says that employers would be well advised to look at the overall experience of working in their organisation and consider if employees leave at a reasonable hour, are given the option to choose benefits to suit their situation, or are engaged in discussions about steps to progress their career.

‘Employers should be speaking to their employees about what they want to get out of their job to help inform their retention strategy, he adds.