UK Workers Engaged Yet Half Plan to Quit, Firstup Report Reveals

Event summary

  • Firstup's State of Employee Engagement Report UK surveyed 3,127 workers, finding 48% of office-based, 50% of managers, and 47% of hourly workers plan to seek new roles within a year despite high engagement levels.
  • 77% of managers face challenges communicating with frontline teams, with only 21% confident in their current communication keeping workers compliant.
  • 68% of hourly workers report never using AI tools at work, citing lack of access as the primary barrier.
  • Miscommunication drives stress (39–49%), productivity loss (32–38%), and safety impacts (5–12%) across roles.

The big picture

Firstup's report highlights a critical disconnect between employee engagement and retention, driven by communication inefficiencies and lack of trust in leadership. This trend underscores the broader industry challenge of maintaining a stable and productive workforce amid evolving communication technologies and expectations. The findings suggest that organizations must prioritize targeted, measurable communication strategies to prevent talent exodus and ensure compliance.

What we're watching

Communication Infrastructure
Whether organizations can implement more effective communication systems to reduce information gaps and improve employee retention.
AI Adoption
The pace at which AI tools will be integrated into frontline workflows and their impact on communication efficiency.
Manager Burnout
How the disproportionate communication burden on managers will affect their retention and overall workforce stability.

Related topics

Technology