Nearly half of workers feel unsafe at work, Workforce reports.

According to the Workforce (People at Work 2023) study, economic volatility poses a threat to most employees around the world. And this degradation of employee sentiment is noticeable not only in France, but everywhere. Employers are being forced to take appropriate measures to appease the talented employees they absolutely need to grow their business.

The study was conducted among 31,000 employed people in 17 countries, including France, where 2,000 representative employees were surveyed.

In Europe, employees in France and Switzerland are most concerned about their job security (38% in France and 48% in Switzerland), while just 25% of Dutch and 28% of Germans expressed concern.

By sector, employees in real estate (54%), media and information (47%), transportation, logistics and industry (46%) feel most insecure about their jobs. At the same time, employees in education and healthcare feel relatively secure in their current job (49%), which is normal as most employees in these sectors have a civil service position and job security.

Employees who work only remotely feel most insecure in their jobs, with more than half expressing this sentiment (55%), compared to 38% of those who work entirely on-site and 34% in hybrid mode. It's also worth noting that workers in large companies feel safer than those in small companies. Employees in large companies with more than 1,000 employees worry about job security just 27% of the time, compared to 43% for SMEs (10 to 249 employees).

The feeling of insecurity in their profession is exacerbated by the volatility of the economy. Nearly 7 in 10 French workers (68%, in contrast to the European average of 57%) believe that no profession will be sustainable in today's economic uncertainty. This feeling is strongest among employees over 35 (71% vs. 64% of 18-34 year olds). By sector, this is particularly common among employees in industry (75%), commerce (73%), transportation and logistics (72%), in contrast to employees in media and information technology (56%).

For the French, job security is practically sacred, along with salary.

The head of ADP in France, Switzerland and Sweden, Carlos Fontelas de Carvalho, believes that companies must learn from these results and find ways to respond to these concerns. "The current times are making workers anxious because of various uncertainties in the economy, geopolitics or even technology. At the same time, many companies still have big problems attracting and retaining talent. In the context of such a situation, employers must redouble their efforts to show their teams that they are valued, that their contributions are recognized and that training and career development opportunities will contribute to their professional future.

Carlos Fontelas de Carvalho continues, "Technological breakthroughs like automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning are perceived by ADP as opportunities to better serve our customers and make life easier for our employees. While some sectors will have to adapt and some occupations will change, open and transparent communication by employees now can help overcome stereotypes and reassure teams of their job security. "

"This positive work environment needs to be felt even by remote employees. The research shows that they may worry that they are not "visible" enough to become an integral part of their company. Therefore, it is important to appreciate the central role of the immediate supervisor in keeping them connected, both in the workplace and remotely, and to accelerate their training so that each employee can prove themselves. "