Managers most likely to quit, Firstup UK survey finds

Firstup has published UK research showing that nearly half of workers expect to look for a new job within a year. The findings are based on a survey of 3,127 UK workers.

Most respondents still described themselves as engaged at work: 76% of office-based staff, 83% of managers and 69% of hourly workers. Yet 48% of office-based employees, 50% of managers and 47% of hourly workers said they were likely to seek a new role within the year.

The gap was most pronounced among managers, who emerged as both the most engaged group and the most likely to consider leaving. The research suggests employee engagement no longer closely tracks staff retention.

Bill Schuh, chief executive officer at Firstup, said the findings point to a broader problem in how employers communicate with staff across different roles and working environments.

“Managers are the most engaged yet most likely to move on, and the other roles are not far behind. This disconnect means that engagement alone is no longer a reliable signal of workforce stability,” Schuh said.

“Organisations must do more to deliver critical information in a consistent, targeted and measurable way. When employees have to work just to stay informed, engagement can quickly shift to burnout and lost productivity rather than organisational loyalty.”

Communication Strain

Large numbers of employees said they were missing important updates despite receiving regular information from their employers. Across roles, 62% to 76% said they had missed key policy or procedural information, while 37% to 48% said their organisation lacked an effective way to share information with them.

Workers also identified practical reasons messages were being missed, including message overload, lack of time and uncertainty about where to find information. Between 30% and 55% said there were too many messages, 34% to 43% said they lacked time, and 10% to 14% said they did not know where to look.

The burden appears to fall heavily on line managers. Although managers were seen as the most trusted source of information, 77% said they faced challenges communicating with frontline teams. Only 21% said they were very confident that current communication methods kept workers compliant.

The operational impact was also evident in the time workers spent looking for information. Some 34% of office-based employees and 37% of managers said they spend three or more hours a week searching for basic information needed to do their jobs.

Stress And Trust

The research linked communication failures to wider workplace pressures. Miscommunication was associated with stress for 39% to 49% of respondents across roles, productivity loss for 32% to 38%, reduced teamwork for 27% to 35%, and missed policies for 29% to 36%. Between 5% and 12% also said it had safety effects.

More than one in five employees across roles said poor communication made them want to look for another job, adding to concerns for employers already dealing with retention pressures in a tight labour market.

For hourly workers in particular, the report pointed to lower trust and a sense of neglect among the disengaged. Among disengaged hourly staff, 65% said their employer did not care about their wellbeing, 62% cited poor workplace culture, 60% reported a lack of recognition or rewards, and 54% said they did not trust leadership.

Employees’ demands were relatively consistent across groups. Beyond pay, the main requests were for employers to show more care, improve communication and provide better tools. Between 50% and 55% said they wanted their organisation to show it cared, 42% to 54% wanted better communication, and 37% to 44% asked for better tools.

AI Access Gap

The study also examined the role of artificial intelligence in closing communication gaps. Hourly workers were more likely than office-based staff to say AI could improve workplace communication, with 37% taking that view compared with 29% of office-based employees.

Even so, access remains uneven. Firstup found that 68% of hourly workers had never used AI tools at work, and the same share cited a lack of access as the main barrier.

Nathan Lowis, managing director for EMEA at Firstup, said communication problems and inefficiencies were widespread across roles.

“AI could help solve many of these challenges, but ironically, hourly workers who feel they would benefit most from AI are often the last to receive access. If organisations want to improve communication and drive critical business outcomes such as increased retention, productivity and safety, they have to empower all employees with the right technology.”