Fifty-two percent of younger workers feel that way pretty much all of the time

More Than Half of U.K. Employees Aren’t Happy - Talent Intelligence Productivity and enthusiasm are down — and 56 percent of workers in the U.K. say they’re unhappy at work, according to a new survey.

Senior managers and department heads seem to have been particularly affected. The number who report they either never or rarely feel they are working as efficiently as possible has almost doubled since 2017.

Although enthusiasm for the work employees perform has decreased across both genders, male workers showed the largest decline. In 2017, half were excited about work often or most of the time; this year, just 35 percent share the same level of enthusiasm.

In regard to age, 18- to 29-year-old U.K. employees are the least satisfied, with more than half (52 percent) rarely or almost never happy at work, compared to 20 percent in 2017. Forty-nine percent of 30- to 49-year-olds are rarely or never happy at work.

Workers who are 50 and older are the happiest employee group. However, their enjoyment levels, too, have declined in the past year, dropping from 84 percent of employees being happy at work at least some of the time in 2017 to 64 percent feeling that way in 2018.

For more about which employees are unhappy at work, view this press release about the survey, which was conducted by benefits provider Personal Group.