Public sector staff feel more downbeat than the rest of the UK workforce about the implications of Britain’s decision to quit the European Union, according to a new survey.
The study of more than 1,000 working adults — carried out by human resources professional body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development — finds that 44% of working adults feel downbeat about the future following June’s Brexit vote.
The CIPD finds that such sentiment is “particularly high” among public sector workers, with 61% of public sector staff saying they felt pessimistic as a result of the referendum outcome.
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Pessimism was also high among voluntary sector workers (58%) and people aged 25-34 (63%).
A third (33%) of public sector workers the CIPD asked said they felt that their jobs were less secure as a result of the UK’s vote to quit the EU.
That was markedly higher than among the wider UK workforce, where just over one in five (22%) workers said they felt their jobs were more at risk.
Ben Willmott, Head of public Policy at the CIPD, said the survey showed that the vote for Brexit had “proven to be a seismic event in people’s working lives”.
He added: “This is especially prevalent amongst public and voluntary sector workers who are already showing signs of feeling less secure in their roles and expect the economic consequences of Brexit to adversely affect their jobs.
“Hopefully, as the political and economic situation becomes clearer, this will subside, but in the short term there is a clear need for UK employers to do more to engage with their workforce about the likely effects of Brexit on their organisation.
“The survey exposes clear signs of worry among the UK workforce and, if left unchecked, could lead to associated issues such as stress and anxiety.”
The CIPD’s survey also flagged incidents of workplace bullying and harassment relating to the Brexit decision. More than one in ten employees (13%) told the organisation that they had “experienced, witnessed or heard of incidents of harassment or bullying of a political nature” since the vote.
Willmott said that “concerning level of racial and political division” needed to be met with a “zero tolerance approach” from line managers.