Retail staff top list of UK's unhappiest workers

Retail staff along with lawyers are the most miserable of all UK workers when it comes to rates of pay, according to research by job search engine Adzuna.

Two thirds of retail staff and lawyers professed “extreme unhappiness” with their salary in the survey of 1,000 workers across 30 different sectors in 12 UK regions, with only four in ten shop assistants remaining hopeful of increases in their rate of pay.

Of all respondents across all sectors, 52 percent of Britain’s employees reported being unhappy with their salary or hourly wage, adding that they felt underpaid for the hours they work or duties carried out, while only 3 percent said they were completely satisfied with their current salary level. However, the survey did reveal that despite despondency over current pay levels, Britain proved itself a nation of optimists, with more than half of British workers hoping for a wage increase in the coming year.

The survey also found that the grumpiest workers in the UK are based in the East of England, with 62 percent of those surveyed felt they were owed a pay rise, closely followed by the East Midlands and Scotland. At the other end of the scale, employees in the South West were the happiest workers in England, with the North West and London following closely behind.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “It’s been a tough couple of years for workers in Britain. Wages have been stagnant and consistently lagging behind inflation. That said, our data suggests that employers across the country are starting to lift the lid on rates of pay.”