Spring has sprung but small firms remain snowed under. Labour shortages, limited funding, and the threat of a recession are just a few of the challenges, and the small business statistics are sobering: nearly 30,000 firms will fail in 2024; the most in two decades.

Diagnosis is the first step to recovery. By identifying the major challenges – internal and external – that today’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face, we can equip them with the knowledge needed to overcome them.

We surveyed a representative sample of 546 business owners, managers, and directors to gain insight into their mindsets, expectations, and top concerns for the year ahead. Let’s delve into what they told us…

Economic instability

The UK economy is on shaky ground. After years of promises for growth, and having fallen into a technical recession in January, 2024 looks set to be another unstable year. Economists have warned that insolvencies could reach their highest level since 2004 this year, according to The Times.

24% of respondents to our survey named the economy as the most likely factor to impact their business confidence. This made it their top concern, overall.

The uncertainty is hitting SMEs hard. Many business owners have been forced to shift their focus from growth to simply maintaining cash flow. This translates into tough choices – 40% reported cutting costs by streamlining operations, while 36% opted to raise prices in response to anticipated lower consumer spending.

These measures, while necessary in the short term, can hinder long-term growth prospects. Striking a balance between weathering the economic storm and investing in the future will be a key challenge for UK SMEs in 2024.

Effect on mental health

The rising cost of living means customers are spending less, while fuel costs, business rates, and employee wages rise. That means entrepreneurs are being attacked on two fronts, with both their company’s profits and personal income being sunk.

Financial worries appear to be a major cause of stress amongst small business owners. Companies that self-report as being in survival mode show a 7% increase in poor mental health.

Areas with the slowest regional growth show the biggest spikes in bad mental health. In the North East, where the local economy is projected to grow by just 1.5% this year, more than one in five business owners described their mental well-being as poor.

In comparison, businesses based in Greater London (forecast to grow by 2%) reported a robust score of 62% for good mental health.

Customer demand

Consumer appetite can slim or grow depending on many factors, like competitor offerings or market trends. This year, one cause casts a long shadow: the cost of living crisis.

Building a strong customer base with consistent sales volume is crucial for companies trying to navigate today’s choppy financial waters. But, spiralling inflation has squeezed household budgets, tightening the general public’s purse and silencing SME cash tills.

This challenge isn’t theoretical. 15% of UK organisations identified “fluctuations in customer demand” as their top concern for the year, surpassing even “access to funding.”

Across every sector, competition is fierce as businesses fight for what little market share remains. This shift in priorities underscores the critical role customer profitability plays in maintaining healthy cash flow for SMEs.

When we asked the best-performing firms in our survey what led to them “thriving” in 2023, 54% of respondents said strong customer relationships.

Industry impact

As UK consumers cut back on spending, ‘unessential’ industries are the first to suffer – one example being leisure firms. Bowling alleys or holiday parks are most concerned about volatile spending. 57% of leisure companies said this was their biggest challenge for 2024.

Fintechs were more confident. As households become more aware of their spending habits, many are relying on accountants or budgeting apps to save money. Because of this heightened demand, only 7% of financial firms said demand fluctuations were a concern.

Funding and finance

Raising money is never far away when it comes to SME challenges. Access to early-stage capital is essential to get a new business off the ground. Steep initial starting up costs mean it can take years for a company to become profitable.

Unfortunately, UK funding has dried up. Venture capital funding of startups plunged by more than 50% last year as funds turned off their money taps. Tellingly, one in ten firms told Startups that access to capital was their main concern for the next 12 months.

Despite the troubling outlook for funding next year, 63% of companies told us they will look to fundraise this year, versus just 14% who will not not.

Many businesses have also built a back-up plan, however. Some 24% of respondents told us their main priority for 2024 was to diversify revenue streams – perhaps as a response to unstable customer demand – in an attempt to chase a more consistent and reliable source of income.

New technology

New tools and resources can help businesses to unlock greater efficiency by streamlining workflows and improving communication. However, this long-term vision comes with a hefty price tag attached, creating a Catch-22 situation for SMEs with limited budgets.

The challenge doesn’t stop at finances. The digital skills gap presents another barrier to tech adoption. 11% of respondents identified a need for increased knowledge about digitalisation to fully leverage its benefits.

This highlights a critical area for learning and development (L&D) within SMEs, as upskilling the workforce becomes crucial for successful tech integration.

Interestingly, the impact of this challenge isn’t limited to specific sectors. While unsurprisingly topping the list for software firms (24%) and fintechs (11%), technological advancement also poses a significant concern for traditional industries.

Even in hospitality and the creative arts, where 30% of firms say innovation is a key contributor to success, navigating the technological landscape was cited as a hurdle.

AI disruption

The big business story of 2023 was the rise of ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence platforms in the workplace. This largely unregulated industry has quickly seeped into almost every sector of the UK business landscape. We found that 61% of UK firms think AI will disrupt their industry in 2024.

Organisations have quickly been forced to adapt to the new technology and its impact on office communication, supply chains, and customer service. It’s a paradigm shift that shows no sign of slowing down.

However, the business outlook around AI is positive. Our data shows that the more disruption expected, the more optimistic firms feel about the future. Just 2% of firms who expect a high level of AI disruption feel pessimistic about future growth, compared to 32% who anticipate no disruption.

However, reaping the benefits of this new technology will require heavy investment from small firms into both the software and upskilling of employees to use it; both of which are challenging enough without the added threat of labour shortages and economic instability.

14% of respondents said investing in AI was their number one priority in 2024, in recognition of the potential of AI to surpass peers and strengthen their company proposition.

Hiring and recruitment

Today’s tight labour market has made finding a qualified candidate for a role an impossible task. Working-age people are leaving the workforce in droves, and businesses find themselves constantly needing to fill workforce gaps.

80% of surveyed businesses told us they plan to expand their staff in the next year, with one-in-five describing it as their main priority.

Given the increasing cost of a new hire, however, there is a need to balance scale-up with survival. Limited resources, plus a troubling economic landscape, mean SMEs often can’t compete on salary alone.

That’s why many companies are attempting to entice talent by offering benefits like flexible working arrangements or meaningful work to differentiate themselves from the market.

Hiring from abroad

We’ve explained the need to bridge the digital skills gap for small businesses to innovate. Last year, the government drastically moved the goalposts on this challenge by raising the minimum salary requirement for hiring talent from abroad.

From 11 April, the lowest amount of money a person can earn to qualify for a working visa in the UK will rise to £29,000. This is a huge problem for firms in low-wage sectors, which have historically relied foreign workers to plug gaping talent shortfalls.

According to official government data, the occupations with the highest workforce born outside the UK are manufacturers (40.4%) and retail workers (24.3%).

Both sectors are low-wage and unlikely to meet the new visa requirements, with 13% of manufacturing firms and 10% of retailers telling us they will already struggle to offer workers a competitive salary this year.

Employee pay demands

Average salaries have surged by record amounts this year as companies – including almost every major UK supermarket – attempt to match skyrocketing inflation and maintain a competitive edge in the talent wars.

The result is a race to the top for workers, who are demanding a pay rise to cover spiralling household bills. Tellingly, payroll and benefits are now the largest financial burdens for SMEs, with a quarter of companies naming these as their biggest expenditure.

Overall, 71% of respondents think they will be able to meet wage expectations this year. But the level of optimism varies dramatically sector-to-sector.

Tech firms, which have historically offered fattened wage packets to entice talent, displayed the most confidence with 80% of businesses in this industry saying they’d be likely or very likely to accommodate pay rises.

That said, the low-wage hospitality and retail sector, where staff shortages have already made employees hard to recruit, were less optimistic.

19% of restaurants and cafes said they’d be unable to meet employee pay expectations this year. The incoming National Minimum Wage rise, which will raise average hourly wage worker pay by over £1,000 a year, will only add to budgeting concerns.

Global geopolitical situations

From war-torn Ukraine to ongoing tensions in the Middle East, international crises are taking a toll on UK businesses. Here’s how:

Supply chain chaos

The situation in the Middle East has disrupted the smooth flow of goods around the world, throwing hauliers into chaos and creating friction at border crossings. The most affected sectors rely on a steady flow of raw materials to produce goods. For example construction businesses, 17% of whom said supply chain disruption was their main concern.

However, a notable percentage of firms in our survey expressed concern. This included those within sectors such as creative media (10%) and hospitality (9%), demonstrating how any business can be impacted by supply chain woes – even those not directly involved in international trade.

Currency fluctuations

16% of fintech and finance companies (the most of any industry) labelled geopolitical situations as their biggest challenge in 2024. Such tensions tend to create volatility in financial markets, making it difficult for fintechs to offer stable and reliable services.

Investors will struggle to offer advice due to fluctuating stock prices. Meanwhile, regulations such as the sanctions placed on Russia, might restrict how companies operate and do business with international partners.

Increased oil prices

Both Russia and the Middle Eastern region are major exporters of crude oil. The disruption caused by wars in Ukraine and Gaza saw business gas and electricity costs quadruple last year. Prices are only just starting to stabilise and, with the government’s Energy Bill Discount Scheme ending on April 1, oil and gas prices will remain a cause of stress for SMEs.

Restaurants, cafes, and hotels tend to use more fuel than in other sectors to run equipment costs and heat large establishments. This is why hospitality (35%) and retail (25%) firms were most likely to name utilities and overhead costs as their biggest expense in our survey.

What’s next for SMEs?

The UK’s 5.6m SMEs are the backbone of the economy, yet they face a relentless barrage of hurdles. Thankfully, as well as a year of challenges, 2024 is a period of change.

This election year we could see a new government move into Westminster; an outcome welcomed by the majority of SMEs. Our research shows that 58% of business owners believe a change in leadership this year would positively impact their business performance.

Should a new prime minister be installed soon, the various challenges outlined above could become a brief chapter in this year’s business diary. Until then, the unwavering confidence of the small business community is a compelling enough reason for optimism.

No fewer than 92% of companies told us they feel positively about the year ahead. This outlook positions SMEs as a driving force to meeting the above challenges head-on for enhanced customer service, innovation, and ultimately, economic recovery.

Could you be bribed back to the office? From Dell refusing to promote remote workers, and Amazon announcing it will fire them, organisations are doing everything they can to get workers back behind the desk – including offering a pay rise.

A new report from BBC Worklife has found that, across the pond, companies have begun to offer around £64,562 for fully in-person roles by March 2024 – an increase of more than 33% compared to the same time last year. 

The decision means that US in-office roles are being paid around £17,000 more than hybrid roles (£47,211), and raises questions about whether a similar practice might soon be employed by organisations in the UK.

The in-person premium

Old habits die hard. Decades of full-time office work has taught us that the daily grind is the best way to conduct business activities; an idea that many UK companies have bought into.

Despite a shift to home working during COVID, a survey from Virgin Media O2 Business finds that 40% of UK firms have returned to the office full-time. They include big names like Boots, which has declared that its teams must work in-office five days a week, up from three.

So far, full-time office work remains in the minority. But the decision to bankroll a return to office (RTO) could skew the scales in the employer’s favour.

ZipRecruiter, the company behind the BBC data, found that workers who switched from a fully remote role to working fully in-office in 2023 received a 29.2% pay reward. An uplift of this scale is hard for employees to dismiss – particularly as the cost of living crisis continues.

Interestingly, the BBC report finds that fully-remote roles are paid similarly to office roles at £64,320 in the US. This is due to the high number of tech professionals who currently work fully from home or abroad as a digital nomad.

Digital skills shortages in today’s jobs market mean that tech workers have become a hot commodity, with one survey estimating their annual salary to be $182,000 (£143,000).

How much would you pay to work from home?

For many of today’s workers – notably parents and caregivers – the work-life balance benefits achieved from flexible working would outweigh any cash prize.

Having a home office also means saving money by avoiding costly commutes or extortionate supermarket meal deals. This is likely why one survey finds 94% of workers would prioritise home working over a pay rise.

The RTO debate must also contend with the demand for flexible working, which has been gathering momentum for the past few years.

In 2023, we surveyed 546 businesses about their current workplace model. The results show that 66% plan to offer more flexible work options this year, including 14% which plan to increase the number of days staff can work from home. 

Remote staff cheaper to employ

While staff might feel ambivalent towards smaller bonuses, the promise of a substantial uplift to pay could convert even the most ardent WFH supporters to a full-time office return. But this is not necessarily a positive for UK SMEs.

Record pay rises have been making staffing costs a headache for businesses. The Startups research shows 82% of firms are already planning to raise worker salaries this year as a way to hold onto talent. Adding an RTO incentive could be the nail in the coffin for SME budgets.

More research is also needed before SMEs can judge whether common suppositions about home working (it causes staff to slack, it fosters bad working relationships) are accurate.

Studies have so far shown no negative relationship between hybrid work and productivity. In fact, in a study by McKinsey 87% of employees surveyed thought they were less productive  if they had to work at the office five days per week.

Without a persuasive reason for why staff need to be back in the office, employers might find that a cash injection is only a short-term fix to buy their full-time attendance.

The business case

There is a logic behind the decision to raise salaries. But given the current economic troubles facing SMEs, it could equally prove disastrous for cash flow and recruitment.

We previously reported that fully in-office firms are most at risk of making layoffs to cut down spending. 38% of firms with full-time office attendance made job cuts last year, compared to 16% of remote teams, due to office rental fees climbing as quickly as payroll.

As the US experiments with high salaries to trigger an RTO, the UK market should consider before it joins suit. Committing to full-time office work with hiked wages could unlock a Pandora’s Box of financial and HR issues that, once opened, will be difficult to contain.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is in hot water after saying that earning £100,000 a year “doesn’t go as far as you might think”. Against the backdrop of a cost of living crisis, his comments have proved divisive. But specifically for working parents, he might just have a point.

This week, research from The Co-operative Bank revealed that parents in London (the most expensive area for childcare) now spend an average of £1,781 per month on nursery or childminder fees. On a £100k salary, that represents 31% of earnings after tax.

Average pay has risen by record amounts in the past 12 months. But as The Co-operative data shows, mums and dads at every stage in the UK pay scale are still struggling to afford ever more extortionate childcare fees.

What would you do with £100k?

Hunt reiterated his comments in an appearance on Sky News last Sunday. “What sounds like a large salary – when you have house prices averaging £670,000 in my area and you’ve got a mortgage and childcare costs – it doesn’t go as far as you might think,” he said.

It’s easy to roll eyes at anyone complaining about earning £100k a year. Classed as being in the top 1% of earners in the UK, this group of workers would make around 186% more than the average yearly income in 2024 of £34,963.

However, the UK’s Income Tax brackets means that earnings between £100,000 and £125,140 pay a tax rate of 60% on some of their income, known as the ‘60% tax trap’.

That means higher earners (who are most likely to be based in London) end up putting a bigger chunk of their monthly post-tax income towards nursery fees than workers in, say, the city with the cheapest childcare: Liverpool.

Scousers pay, on average, £800 per month for childcare. That’s £981 less than the capital and represents a massive 123% difference in cost.

Still, according to The Co-operative, average total net income for a couple in Liverpool is £50,351. With a crippling 19.1% of a couple’s monthly net income still required to cover childcare, few parents in this area would describe their childcare as “affordable”.

Indeed, regional analysis by The Co-operative finds employees in every area are affected by the crisis. Derby in the Midlands is the second most expensive city in the UK for childcare, while parents in Southend-on-Sea put the largest proportion (31%) of monthly pay on childcare.

Childcare crisis

Accessing childcare is becoming increasingly arduous for Brits, with the UK now ranked as the third most expensive country for childcare by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development( OECD).

The fallout is devastating for the labour market. High costs mean it can make more financial sense for parents to leave the workforce, essentially pricing out employees who choose to start a family.

Women’s careers are being most affected. In a study by Ipsos and Business in the Community (BITC), 19% of women admitted to leaving a job because they had found it too hard to balance work and care.

Employers are aware of the impact this is having on the workforce, but they can hardly raise staff wages to cover daycare fees — the hit to payroll would be too great.

Entrepreneurs are also being penalised on both ends. Given that business owners take their income from their company profits, the amount they spend on childcare impacts their own pockets and their business bank accounts.

What is the government doing about it?

In January, new laws came into effect which mean that households earning less than £100k per year now qualify for 15 hours of free childcare for their two-year-olds. From September, that will be extended to those with nine-month-olds.

Given this barely takes care of two working days a week, the announcement sent more ripples than shockwaves. Women might switch to part-time work over unemployment, but that would still leave a sizable gap between household income and spend.

And, while Hunt has acknowledged that the issue is untenable for both working parents and the wider labour market, any talk of tangible policy was kept vague and only addressed those affected by the tax trap.

“We weren’t able to afford to fund childcare for people on the higher salaries but I was simply saying that’s something I’d love to look at in the next parliament,” he told Sky News.

In 2025, plans are to extend the policy to cover 30 hours of free childcare support per week for toddlers under three. But that’s only if the Tories remain in power (a big “if” that few business owners are wishing for).

It may seem ridiculous to the average earner, but that the top percentage of workers can’t afford childcare is not just whinging; it’s a truism that shows how dire the situation is.

Fixing the solution for all workers, at any income bracket, will require a revolutionary response that means modern working parents aren’t penalised for wanting both a career and a family.

Let’s make no bones about it – the cost of living crisis means it’s hardly the best time to launch a premium grocery product, let alone seek investment for such a business idea. But last night, Amelia Christie-Miller, fresh from persuading UK consumers to part with up to £3.50 for a jar of Bold Bean Co’s upmarket legumes, managed to convince the Dragons’ Den investors to stump up a £50,000 stake in her business.

I’ll not lie, when I first heard about Bold Bean Co, upon their application to the Startups 100, I was a cynic. Beans. In water. For £3.50? And then I tasted them – and I can’t go back.

I like beans. I’m pretty sure that my gran made me baked beans on toast for my tea every day for years on end. A tin would have cost pence back then, and in my head, it’s still pence now. But, a tin of Heinz costs £1.40 at most supermarkets today – food inflation strikes again.

Still, you can get unflavoured chickpeas or butter beans for about 50p a can. Though a jar of Bold Beans is bigger by net weight, is Christie-Miller onto a hiding to nothing asking consumers to spend seven times as much for one of her products?

£3.50 a jar isn’t as crazy as it sounds

On Dragons’ Den last night, Christie-Miller appealed to a largely unconvinced panel of Dragons. Many of them were promptly “out”. Deborah Meaden, however, who professes to follow a plant-based lifestyle, seemed more interested.

Christie-Miller had Meaden taste Bold Bean Co’s product, alongside a standard supermarket bean. From my own experience, I can tell you, the difference is night and day.

Plenty of consumers won’t be persuaded. After the Dragons’ Den episode aired, The Daily Mirror rounded up a scathing series of viewer reactions from Twitter/X. Most called out the cost difference of Bold Bean Co’s products versus Heinz and the like.

Cards on the table, I think Bold Bean Co’s giant-sized chickpeas and colossal butter beans are so good, they’re incomparable to a 50p can of the same. But, I wouldn’t bother spending Bold Bean money on its smaller beans, myself. The black beans seem no different to what you can get for well under a pound, for instance.

But, perhaps bean-on-bean isn’t the right comparison. Christie-Miller and her business’s mission statement is to get consumers “obsessed with beans.” She argues they shouldn’t be viewed as an upgrade on cheaper beans, but as a regular substitute for meat. Compare the cost of those butter beans (frequently discounted, in my experience, to around £2.70) to the price of a chicken breast, and you’re more in the ballpark of why this business makes sense.

Sustainable startups getting investment

In the end, Deborah Meaden was fully on board, putting up £50k for 7.5% of the business, to Christie-Miller’s delight.

Meaden saw the potential for huge further growth in Bold Bean Co’s future. The business has already demonstrated amazing progress. It started life as a “kitchen table” business idea only a couple of years ago, then became operationally profitable in 2023, and gained B Corp certification, while growing 100% year-on-year. It also won a book deal for its recipe collection, “Bold Beans: recipes to get your pulse racing”, which became an instant Amazon bestseller.

This year’s Startups 100 list suggests that climate-conscious eating is here to stay. Fighting climate change begins from our dinner plates. To hit ambitious emissions-reductions targets, we’re going to have to tackle a meat-eating culture that’s been built on a foundation of intensive farming.

Bold Bean Co was just one of the eye catching sustainable brands that made it into our 2024 Startups 100 rankings. Others include:

• Better Dairy – Hackney-based ‘brewer’ of dairy products that are 100% animal-free
• THIS™ – meat alternatives so realistic that even meat-eaters can’t tell the difference
• Hoxton Farms – a food tech firm that’s “growing” cultivated fat for meat alternatives
• Julienne Bruno – delicious vegan-friendly cheeses inspired by the Italian Burrata
• Milky Plant – a machine to make plant-based milk from the comfort of your own home

As these startups continue to grow, they will play an increasingly important role in transforming the food industry. Brands like Julienne Bruno are already stocked in popular food joints like Pizza Pilgrims, while Hoxton Farms is preparing to sell its cultivated fat product as a B2B ingredient to enable the growth of meat alternative companies.

Of course, you may not yet feel persuaded by plant-based burgers (which have to fight a growing backlash against ultra-processed food), nor want to try products based on lab-grown animal cells. And that’s where good quality beans come in.

Employers like Boots have caused upset amongst employees by demanding a return to full-time office work this month. Now it seems even managers are ignoring the request.

According to research by Owl Labs, 70% of UK managers have admitted to allowing staff to work remotely from home despite their company demanding an official return to office (RTO).

While large employers talk the big talk about a forced return to the desk, the data calls into question whether businesses can enforce an RTO policy that isn’t backed by management.

RTO mandates foster rise in stealth management

Efforts by organisations to get employees back into the office have ranged from polite requests, to blackmail, to bizarre (as in the case of WebMD’s much ridiculed ‘back to the office’ music video).

The results have been negative. Brands like Dell and Amazon have caused uproar by introducing coercive initiatives that effectively punish remote workers, such as refusing to consider those who work from home for a promotion or pay rise.

Some firms, including Boots, have spotted the backlash caused by a heavy hand and taken a more delicate approach to the issue.

“There will of course still be times when working from home is necessary for either personal or business reasons,” said the retailer, when it asked staff to work from the office full-time.

Despite various PR crises, organisations continue to fall into the RTO trap. Their efforts are almost certainly doing more harm than good, as Owl Lab analysis suggests that more stringent mandates are giving rise to “stealth management”.

The practice occurs when managers feel emboldened to introduce their own rules on business practices such as remote work, to fight against what they view as unfair ruling.

As Owl Labs finds that 7 in 10 line managers are defying RTO orders, it’s likely those who work from home will simply fly under the radar during performance reviews – undermining employer authority and creating a divide between leadership and management.

‘Be reasonable about RTO,’ say workers

Headlines are warning UK workers of stringent action being taken by big-name employers against WFH. But the Owl Labs data shows that the power is actually in employee hands – and they don’t want to relinquish the benefits of flexible working.

The perks are, by now, well-advertised. Most members of staff agree that it brings them better work-life balance and would choose remote working over a pay rise.

This consensus could be the reason why 35% of survey respondents report their company has backtracked on a RTO mandate. Accordingly, 15% say this was due to staff demands, indicating that employee preferences are still driving company policies.

Not everyone is entirely against a return to the office, however. 87% of employees that Owl Labs surveyed agreed that RTO strategies can be beneficial for boosting team morale.

However, the same percentage favoured an ‘unofficial’ and more flexible strategy that allows for hybrid working, where working from home is permissible at managers’ discretion.

Respondents were also more cynical about office working as a way to improve productivity. Just 44% of hybrid workers said that working from home made them less productive.

Flexibility remains key

In just over two weeks the government’s flexible working bill, which empowers individuals to request flexible working options from day one of employment, will become law.

With even Westminster backing more flexibility over when and where staff work, the decision by many organisations to impose a strict and punishing RTO policy looks increasingly like fighting against the wind: pointless.

Taking a carrot approach to a return to office that acknowledges the advantages it offers staff is more likely to win manager support and improve relations within the company hierarchy; two vital ingredients for any HR change.

Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs comments: “It may seem contradictory for managers to push for RTO mandates while also allowing employees to work remotely when it suits them.

“However, it shows that despite managers valuing face-to-face interactions with their employees, they don’t want to dictate their work schedule. Managers need to trust their team so that employees can work where they do best.”

One of the UK’s oldest retailers, Marks and Spencer, has announced a new round of store closures amid its plans to axe 110 stores in the next five years. The news follows a plethora of high street store closures – but M&S’ latest move is more strategic than catastrophic.

According to Craig Burton, regional manager at M&S, the retailer is reacting to “shopping habits changing” amongst UK consumers. He said: “We’re rotating our store estate to make sure we have the right stores to offer customers.”

Consumer purchasing power has shifted dramatically as a result of the cost of living crisis.  With 1,059 stores across the UK, we explain what’s behind Marks and Sparks’ strategic reshuffle, and how it might spark a new era of growth for the business.

Financial turnaround

Marks and Spencer has had a tumultuous few financial years, to say the least. Inflationary pressures meant that, in the last financial year, the 140-year-old retailer posted a pre-tax profit of £482 million; a 7.8% decline in the previous 12 months. 

Compared to rivals, however, the brand is flourishing. Clothing and food sales have risen, and M&S is expressing cautious optimism about its future.

Under the tenure of new CEO Stuart Machin, the firm reintroduced a dividend for shareholders last summer, sending its share price climbing from 127p in January to an impressive 224p by August.

Partly this is due to decreasing competition. Department stores like Debenhams, BHS, and House of Fraser have faded into the background, weighed down by store closures and administration chaos. 

But the company is not content to just outlive its competitors. The firm is targeting a 75% surge in profits, a long-term strategy that has seen it invest heavily in value for customers.

Cost of living discount

In answer to declining consumer sales, many grocers and clothing retailers have chosen to raise prices over the past few years to make up for a profit shortfall. 

But while peers like Tesco were accused of ‘rampant profiteering’ by trade unions due to the record profits it recorded during the crisis, M&S has taken the other route, absorbing many of its suppliers’ price increases to strengthen customer wallets and buy their loyalty.

Previously seen as a ‘premium’ retail brand, the company last year issued £30 million worth of discounts to its food and clothing lines in order to lure in food shoppers amid the supermarket price wars.

Its efforts paid off. Despite warnings that the Christmas period would see a fall in growth, M&S took the turkey crown for December trading, reporting a better-than-expected 8.1% rise in sales according to Reuters.

Scaling down to scale up

M&S’s store closures might disappoint customers in specific UK locations but its logic makes sense in today’s business landscape. The company is working to reduce its portfolio of “full-line stores” as shoppers prioritise bargains over choice.

Many consumers are shifting towards more cost-efficient, second-hand selling platforms like Vinted. Meanwhile, the move to remote work means people are investing less money into workwear (devastating formal clothing chain, Ted Baker).

In answer, Marks and Spencer has thinned out its many in-house clothing lines to prioritise its more profitable food lines. Here, premium options are increasingly replaced by own-brand staple goods like milk and eggs.

That’s not to say the company is entirely scaling back. Despite the planned store closures, M&S may soon be more accessible to shoppers thanks to its investment in ecommerce.

Recognising the number of shoppers who now buy online, M&S has also shared plans to update its shopping app in an attempt to double its user base to five million by 2026. 

The move is a smart decision following well-publicised retail failures such as Superdry. Once the darling of millennials, the brand was late to the internet shopping party and has let its audience base flock to alternate clothing websites like Asos.

Consumer demand big concern for businesses

Store closures have rarely been good news for UK shoppers, but the headlines about Marks and Spencer’s shutting up shop are only the next stage in Machin’s five-year plan.

As well as the 110 stores slated for closure, five new ‘flagship’ department stores are planned for Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, and Thurrock.

While its finances are more aptly described as ‘good’ than ‘strong’, the former label is a rare beacon of hope for UK retailers in the cost of living crisis. In a recent Startups survey, 15% of UK firms said “fluctuations in customer demand” were their biggest concern for this year. 

Sometimes in business, it is necessary to go backwards in order to go forwards. Marks and Spencers shows us that, by prioritising customer relationships, it is possible for firms to grease their wheels and plot a path out of today’s economic downturn.

The government will fully fund training for 20,000 new apprenticeships from April 1, in a move to help SMEs absorb staffing cost increases ahead of the national minimum wage rise.

From April, the minimum hourly wage for workers will be raised in line with inflation. Apprentice pay will see the biggest boost by 21.2% to £6.40 per hour as the government seeks to motivate young people into the workforce.

To counterbalance the rise, Whitehall has declared it will allocate £60 million in funding for apprentice training fees. 

Announcing the money pot at a conference for small firms on Monday, prime minister Rishi Sunak said it “will unlock a tidal wave of opportunity” for SME talent and recruitment.

Government foots bill for apprenticeship training

Under the government’s previous apprentice support package, small employers were able to claim back 95% of apprentice upskilling costs such as assessing trainees or paying for learning materials like textbooks and software.

This latest raft of measures will see the government raise its subsidy to cover 100% of training costs. Perhaps more impactful is a planned increase to the amount of funding that employers who are paying the apprenticeship levy (a fund used to pay for apprenticeship training and end-point Assessment) can pass onto other businesses. 

Under the new rules, large employers like ASDA and BT Group who pay the apprenticeship levy will be able to transfer up to 50% of their funds (previously 25%) to support other businesses, including smaller firms, to take on apprentices. 

Employers struggle to afford increase

The enhanced support for hiring and training apprentices will be welcomed by small employers. Labour shortages have left many SMEs with stretched workforces and a shortage of required skills, causing hiring regret amongst employers.

At the same time, hiring for talent has become more expensive following months of record-high inflation. With real wages drastically outpacing SME profits, the result has been a widening skills gap and rising levels of stress and burnout in the workforce.

That was due to worsen this spring. Far from breathing new life into the business landscape, April 1 promises expensive wage growth with the new minimum living wage rate, which will see pay for workers aged 21 and over reach £11.44 per hour, up from £10.18.

In attempting to accommodate for the increase, many firms have had to lay off staff, particularly in sectors with poor profit margins like retail and hospitality. Some brands have even faced PR crises as employees accuse them of backing down on pay promises.

Brewdog CEO, James Watt made headlines in January when he declared that the Scottish brewer would stop paying staff the Real Living Wage, arguing that to do so would increase company payroll by an “untenable” 26%.

Young people needed in the workforce

The government’s surprise investment into apprenticeship schemes is likely a response to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, which last month showed that a record number of young people are currently not looking for work.

Three million people under the age of 25 are choosing to remain unemployed, the data shows, as the next generation of workers shows increasing antipathy towards work and career progression. 

Partly, this is due to the high number of young people leaving college or sixth form and entering higher education.

Graduates are increasingly putting off recruiters with their demand for higher wages, with many arguing (perhaps correctly) that entry-level salaries are not enough for them to pay back student loans and cover higher rent costs.

Those in Westminster would agree. The prime minister has previously argued that too many university degrees are “ripping off” students and not giving them the skills required to succeed in the modern workplace, such as Artificial Intelligence.

Apprenticeships mean Gen Z can earn while learning – a prospect that will be more enticing come April when pay packets are fattened up by the new minimum apprentice wage.

Business advantage

The new round of funding is the prime minister’s first economic speech since the Spring Budget two weeks ago, which noticeably failed to answer business demands for greater employee support measures.

Organisations disappointed by the budget will be buoyed by this week’s announcement. Apprentices have been shown to contribute over half a billion pounds to UK small businesses in cost saving measures.

By investing in entry-level roles, companies who employ and train apprentices can ensure a future pipeline of talent for smarter succession planning.

Long-term, this could drastically lessen the impact of the hiring crisis and give the next generation of workers a more sustainable route into employment.

That said, support is still required in the short-term. With a record number of people still out of the workforce, immediate financial aid such as lowered business rates will also be needed to get SMEs through today’s perilous economic climate.

Lee Roberts is Small Business Comparison Expert at Bionic. Roberts describes the scheme  as “welcome news for business owners looking to train up staff and for young people looking to kick start their careers. Let’s just hope this support package is the first of many.”

Global software company Dell has warned hybrid and remote workers they will be less likely to get a promotion, in a sign that the return-to-office debate has hit crisis point.

The new policy means Dell (which boasts a 158,000-strong workforce worldwide) joins a growing list of organisations, including Boots, which have U-turned on previous flexible working policies. Rejecting its benefits, they are requesting that employees return to fully in-office work amid concerns that home working could impact productivity. 

With flexible working on the rise in the majority of UK workplaces, the group is stepping up their efforts in 2024, raising questions about the impact on talent and recruitment strategies.

Dell tells remote to beware of “trade-offs”

Dell previously boasted a generous remote working policy that not only permitted, but encouraged remote work. In 2022, its Future of Work report boasted that “a long-term ambition for Dell Technologies is for 60% of our workforce to operate remotely on any day”. 

That no longer seems to be the case. Unveiling its new office work ‘incentive’ in an internal memo, the company informed employees they must work from an “approved” office for a minimum of 39 days per quarter, or around three days per week.

Addressed to remote team members, it read: “it is important to understand the trade-offs: Career advancement, including applying to new roles in the company, will require a team member to reclassify as hybrid onsite.” 

Another Dell employee reportedly told Business Insider that at-home workers will also miss out on rewards for onsite workers, such as funding for team meetings. They will also apparently be more at risk of losing their job in the event of a restructuring. 

Remote workers punished

With its latest HR strategy, Dell joins a group of large employers who are trying to disincentive staff members from the home desk, including Amazon and Meta.

In a recent survey by ResumeBuilder.com, remote staff were found to be 24% less likely to receive promotions compared to in-office (60%) and hybrid colleagues (59%).

It’s a similar story for pay. The same survey finds that only 41% of remote employees received a salary increase of 10% or more, compared to 51% of hybrid staff and 52% of fully on-site colleagues.

Bosses defend the decision to link remote work with performance reviews by arguing the practice limits employee learning and development. Commenting on its new policy, Dell explained: “We believe in-person connections paired with a flexible approach are critical to drive innovation and value differentiation.”

The idea holds less weight given Dell’s previous attitudes towards remote work, however. In 2022, CEO Michael S. Dell criticised in-office mandates on a LinkedIn post. 

“At Dell, we found no meaningful differences for team members working remotely or office-based even before the pandemic forced everyone home,” he wrote. 

These remarks make Dell’s decision to demote remote staff all the more baffling. With no evidence to suggest that remote work limits workforce productivity, Dell can hardly expect to convince its workers of a need to work in-office beyond obeying the whim of their employer.

Remote teams help, not hinder

Despite big-name businesses amping up the return-to-office debate, exclusive research from Startups.co.uk has found that remote workers at smaller companies are actually less likely to see it negatively impact their career – the opposite, in fact.

In a survey of 546 businesses, those clinging to a fully in-office culture were found to be twice as likely to have laid off staff in the past year, compared to remote and hybrid teams.

The findings suggest that the decision by some businesses to penalise employees who work from home could actually be detrimental to growth. 

Organisations where flexible working is encouraged require smaller office space, drastically reducing their overhead costs. Being frugal on space means they can avoid making layoffs and maintain or grow their workforce – effectively getting more for less.

Conversely, forcing employees back to the daily grind means firms like Dell – which is currently paying rent on an estimated 224 office bases globally – must accommodate for the charge, further stretching their already thin margins in today’s stagnating economy.

Fighting the inevitable

Employees will rightfully feel concerned when they see industry leaders like Dell deliberately handicap remote workers. But flexible working is actually on the up in UK workplaces.

Research from the same Startups survey shows that 66% of businesses plan to introduce remote work policies – such as the four day week – to their office this year.

The government is also onside. New legislation including the Flexible Working Bill will make it even easier for staff to request flexible work arrangements from April 6.

Dell workers have already aired their displeasure at the new policy. With UK workers now favouring flexible work benefits over a pay rise, the more likely outcome of a return-to-office policy is a thinned-out workforce of dissatisfied staff; a result that will disadvantage productivity and employee engagement more than remote work ever did.

The firms fighting the return-to-office corner have already proven they are no stranger to a U-turn. As the rest of the business world embraces flexible working and its recruitment and cost benefits, we can expect another pivot soon.

Today’s job market is fiercely competitive. For every role that’s advertised, hundreds of qualified individuals will throw their CV into the ring. That means job seekers are under pressure to stand out from the crowd – and managers to get hiring right.

Many applicants are turning to creative CV formats, like video essays or comic book layouts, to win over headhunters. Showcasing their designs on TikTok, they swear by the practice as the key to landing a dream role.

Recruiters are more sceptical, however. Many say that creative CVs more often go wrong than right, and their warnings have stirred a viral debate. Below, we hear from five recruitment experts on the most common mistakes made when designing a creative CV.

1. It takes too long to evaluate

Recruiters are busy people. If someone has four hundred CVs to review, they could end up becoming frustrated with the extra time they need to spend deciphering your handwritten note or unfolding your delicate origami resume. They might even discount you immediately.

Lauren Richardson is Senior Account Executive at Marketing Signals. “Creative CVs can slow down the application review process and create extra work for recruiters if they have to watch a three minute video or open the document in a different format,” she tells Startups.

2. It’s ignoring the job advert

If a job advert asks for specific documents, don’t go the ‘extra mile’ and produce something out of the box. Even for a role in a creative industry, the person screening CVs might not be creatively minded. They may think you didn’t read the ad properly or can’t follow instructions.

Geoff Shepherd is Founding Director of iSource Group, a recruitment specialist based in Leeds. Shepherd advises following the recruiter’s guidance first and foremost. 

“If they’ve asked for a word or PDF document, then that means that they are expecting to see a text rich CV in a traditional format. Focus on giving the hiring manager what they are looking for,” he says.

3. It can’t be read by a computer

It’s only one small part of the recruitment process, but scanning through 600 resumes and cover letters is a full-time job, which is why many teams now use AI software or Applicant Tracking Software to review job applications at scale. Without human eyes to understand its nuances, a creative CV might be misread and flagged as missing key information.

“It’s worth double checking who you’re applying to and whether you have to upload your CV to a system or not before you go ahead with a creative CV,” advises Richardson. “You could email someone at the company to check whether they screen CVs first.”

4. It looks unprofessional

One person’s masterpiece is another person’s hackwork. Sometimes straying away from the typical one-page layout of a CV can lead to a messy document that ends up hurting, not helping your chances of getting a job.

Graeme Jordan, a CV and job application consultant, advises that creativity is subjective.  “Your version of creative brilliance won’t match someone else’s,” he elaborates. “For example, I don’t like graphs that say ‘80% this skill and 60% that’. A professionally formatted two-page document should be enough.”

5. It overpromises on portfolio

Another issue with creative CVs is that they might end up looking better than your actual portfolio of work – a particular issue if you’re applying to a design role.

Mike Goldsworthy is Creative Lead at ilk Agency, a Leeds-based marketing agency. Goldsworthy tells Startups that the company has received lots of creative CVs where the quality of the accompanying portfolio is what ultimately let the applicant down.

“Make sure you’re backed up by a strong body of work,” he stresses. “A creative CV might just grab our attention, but it’s not what we are interested in. Ultimately the portfolio is king.”

6. It’s hiding your qualifications

Thinking creatively might make your application more memorable. But make sure it’s not the only thing a hiring manager takes from your CV. Pictures or illustrations can distract from your actual qualifications, which should always be the most important part of any job entry.

Daniel Wolken is Talent Acquisition Specialist at DailyRemote, a globe-spanning remote job board. Wolken warns that legibility is key when it comes to designing a CV. “Readability has to be maintained. No matter the formatting, recruiters still need the essential information about your career history, achievements, and education to pop clearly.”

Is a creative CV ever a good idea?

There are still scenarios where a more imaginative approach to stale and pale documents like the cover letter is a great way to make recruiters sit up and take notice.

Wolken, who reviews hundreds of resumes each week, says receiving a creative CV is “always a breath of fresh air. In an instant, it can differentiate you from the dozens of generic resumes I may scan in an hour.”

Done right, a creative CV lets recruiters get to know you and your personality. It will also tell a hiring manager you’re invested in the job, proving your passion for a role beyond just promises on a page. 

Naturally, industries that value design and innovation will be willing to embrace a creative CV. If applying to a marketing or graphic design firm, you won’t have to worry if an artistic CV made using photoshop is clouding your qualifications; it will act as evidence for them. 

Do your due diligence. Before whacking out the oil paints, find out more information about the organisation, such as their values, to judge how they might respond to a creative CV. Reach out to the hiring manager to ask if a creative CV is recommended – or a no-go. 

Above all, know that just because a creative CV is a risk; doesn’t mean it won’t pay off.

“As with everything in life, many opinions on CVs exist and they can’t all be right,” concludes Jordan. “If you are applying for any kind of creative job, then it would be a mistake to miss an opportunity to showcase your creative skills.”

This week, figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed a record number of young people are ‘inactive’, fuelling further debate around a perceived lack of work ambition amongst Generation Z.

Three million people under the age of 25 are unemployed, the data shows, and those who are in work are increasingly coming under fire for unprofessionalism and low effort.

Despite poor performance reviews from business leaders, new research shows that Gen Z is also the generation most concerned about career progression. So how do managers square competing employee ideas about success in the workplace?

Who’s afraid of Gen Z?

Hollywood socialite and self-styled businesswoman, Kim Kardashian made headlines last year when she was asked by Variety to offer some words of advice to women in business.

“Get your f**ing ass up and work,” she said. “”It seems like nobody wants to work these days. You have to surround yourself with people that wanna work.”

Kardashian might have been widely mocked at the time, but her words increasingly look like a wise prophecy for the current state of the job market.

Employers have joined in on the rant, raving about ‘lazy young people’. 74% of bosses describe Gen Z as the most difficult generation to work with, describing them as unmotivated.

Rather than taking offence, many Gen Zers have embraced the label. Across TikTok, they are openly criticising their employer and participating in anti-work trends like quiet quitting.

The movement is impacting relationships from day one. In a study by Indeed, 93% of Gen Zers said they haven’t shown up to an interview before. 87% said they had not even shown up on their first day of work.

Others are leaving jobs altogether to embark on a ‘quarter-life gap year’. Putting career development on pause to travel the world, workers in their early to late twenties are rejecting expectations to build up a CV, deferring learning the ropes until later in life.

We still want a promotion, say young employees

With young people gallivanting off on trips abroad, it would be fair to expect the next generation is unbothered about career progression. But research from Instantprint shows Gen Zers are also the most likely age group in the workforce to care about a promotion.

In a survey of 1,000 UK employees, just 43% of Millennials said that career progression was important to them, while 28% of Gen Xers shared that career progression is neither important nor unimportant.

50% of Gen Z, however, shared that career progression is very important to them, indicating that despite an apparent laid-back attitude to work, Gen Zers are still interested in gaining a pay rise or a new job title.

Whether they’ll get them is doubtful. With many managers of young employees arguing their demands are unreasonable, relationships appear to have soured.

Career regret and confusion for Gen Z

Confused? So is Gen Z. Their paradoxical wish to reject traditional work culture while still climbing the corporate ladder indicates that the group is struggling to find its place in the workforce – a workforce that has undergone huge changes in the past two years.

Flexible working is a relatively new phenomenon for most UK employees. But for Gen Zers, it’s all they know. The same can be said for habits like office slang replacing corporate language or casual dress codes leaking into ‘formal’ industries.

Wages also cannot be ignored. In today’s poor economy businesses have tightened the purse strings and invested less in entry-level roles which require a bigger training budget, making it near impossible for young people to get a job without years of experience.

Graduates and school leavers are also entering the workforce with sky-high student debt to pay off and rent payments many can’t afford to make. It’s no surprise that, in a survey of 2,000 Gen Z workers to uncover their attitudes towards their career paths, a massive 43% said they already regret choosing their current profession.

Disappointed by salaries that have not kept rate with inflation, many are incredulous at being asked to work for a promotion, such as by putting in additional hours, without more pay.

“They’re very much used to being rewarded for their effort, rather than hitting their goals,” one manager told Startups. “Leaving at 5.30pm as opposed to 5pm makes them feel as though they’ve gone the extra mile.”

What does success look like in the modern workplace?

Senior staff with decades of experience in the workplace might be tempted to dismiss Gen Z’s employee engagement crisis as “lazy young people”. Certainly, ghosting a job interview or not turning up to work on the first day is behaviour that should be quashed.

Still, this Kardashian-esque sweeping statement misunderstands the context behind the clash. The post-COVID workplace is still deciding what it looks like. As the pendulum swings between traditional and modern, the result will fall somewhere between the two.

Both parties must evaluate how they view success in a job and where a new definition might be drawn. For example, the Instantprint survey found that one in seven Gen Z respondents start work at different times every day.

Previously this might have been seen as ill-discipline. But the truth is it’s not about laziness, but a generational shift towards flexibility that’s becoming the norm across the workforce.

Updating performance reviews to be more in-line with these new work habits will enable bosses to set clear boundaries for promotion and reward without having to accept genuinely inappropriate behaviour. In short, bridging the gap requires flexibility, not judgement.

On March 6, 2024, TikTok announced a groundbreaking integration for UK businesses.

The social media giant, known for its trendsetting power, has finally launched their integration with Shopify in the UK, allowing merchants to showcase and sell products directly through the TikTok app. 

This integration, facilitated by the new “TikTok for Shopify” app, opens doors for small businesses, Tiktok dropshippers and side hustlers to tap into a highly engaged audience and potentially skyrocket their sales.

What’s all the fuss about?

Hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, #Squishmallows and Love and Pebble #Beautypops perfectly illustrate the platform’s influence on consumer behaviour, and just a few examples of brands are gaining massive popularity solely through user-generated content. It’s a breeding ground for new customers and trends! 

TikTok Shop capitalises on this by offering businesses the ability to:

• Create shoppable videos: showcase products directly within engaging video content.
• Host live streams: interact with potential customers in real-time, answer questions, and promote products.
• Sell directly through the app: eliminate the need for external website visits, creating a frictionless shopping experience.

This translates to a powerful combination of community, creativity, and commerce.

Brits: the prime audience for your TikTok shop

The UK presents a fertile ground for this integration. Now as a seller, the integration can provide you with a highly engaged audience and mobile-first commerce.

Brits happen to spend an exceptional amount of time on TikTok – a staggering 49 hours and 29 minutes per month on the Android app alone, according to Digital 2024: The United Kingdom report. 

In addition to that, Brits hold the highest average monthly usage of TikTok globally, spending nearly 50 hours on the app. This translates to a massive potential customer base actively engaged with the platform.

TikTok also ranks first in mobile app spending in the UK, surpassing giants like Tinder and Disney+. Since consumers are increasingly comfortable shopping directly from their mobile devices, this integration allows businesses to tap into this trend and meet their audience where they already are. 

How to make this work for you:

• Identify your niche: the key to success lies in understanding your target audience and the type of content that resonates with them.
• Embrace creativity: leverage the power of short-form video to showcase your products in an engaging and entertaining way. Tutorials, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and user-generated content are all effective strategies.
• Focus on high-quality visuals: product demonstrations, unboxing videos, and lifestyle content are all effective ways to grab attention.
• Utilise trending sounds and hashtags: ride the wave of popular trends whenever you can to increase your discoverability.
• Run contests and giveaways: surprise and delight your fans by incentivising engagement, which also encourages user-generated content.
• Offer exclusive deals and promotions: motivate viewers to take action and convert them into paying customers.
• Partner with influencers: collaborate with relevant Tiktok creators to reach a wider audience and leverage their established communities.
• Run targeted ads: utilise Tiktok’s advertising platform to target users based on demographics, interests, and behaviours.
• Prioritise customer relationships: respond to comments, answer questions, and actively participate in the conversation to build trust and brand loyalty.
• Use data & analytics: capitalise on insights provided by both Shopify and Tiktok to understand your audience’s preferences and optimise your business strategy accordingly.

Conclusion

The Shopify integration with TikTok Shop presents a unique opportunity for small businesses and side hustlers in the UK to streamline and simplify the user journey. By embracing creative content, and building an engaged community, you can leverage the power of TikTok to reach a wider audience and achieve significant sales growth.

Feeling the strain at work? You’re not alone. 

A study shed light on the UK’s working landscape – going beyond just salaries, and into the impacts of certain careers on our health. 

The research – by money.co.uk‘s business insurance team and personal injury experts at Claims.co.uk – examined physical safety (workplace injuries and illnesses), emotional wellbeing (stress and burnout caused by the job), as well as financial security (risk of crime for businesses). 

Crunching the numbers has revealed the industries that pose the greatest risk to employee health and well-being, providing valuable insights for those considering a career change, or who are unaware of the toll their job choice may be taking on them.  

Safety first: the low-risk sectors

The data notes three of the lowest-risk industries, though it is hard to determine number one due to the varied risks across industries in different areas. 

Arts, entertainment, and recreation reign supreme for those seeking a physically safe workplace with a low crime risk with a score of 2.65. This industry boasts low workplace illness rates (3,340 per 100,000 workers) and even lower non-fatal injury rates (1,140 per 100,000 workers). 

However, while lower on the stress scale (1,820 per 100,000), this industry still sees a significant number of workers struggling. This suggests a potential trade-off between physical safety and mental well-being.

Professional, scientific, and technical activities present a different risk profile. Though workplace injuries are lower (580), this category suffers the most from reported workplace illnesses (3,650). This could be due to factors like exposure to long hours spent working at desks or zoom fatigue including symptoms such as eye strain and migraines. Mental health concerns also remain significant here, with 2,310 reported cases.

Accommodation and food service activities emerge as a risky sector physically, with a high number of workplace injuries (2,500), this industry likely reflects the physically demanding nature of many jobs. However, its toll emotionally on workers’ health is surprisingly low – at just 1430 per 100,000 workers.

Danger ahead: the high-risk sectors

The study by Claims.co.uk sheds light on the most stressful UK industries.

The human health and social work industry was found to be the most stressful industry, with a staggering 3,530 individuals per 100,000 workers experiencing work-related stress. This high-stress level comes despite boasting one of the widest salary ranges (£17,000 – £63,000) and encompassing professions like doctors, therapists, and nursing home assistants.

Public defence follows closely behind, holding the title of the second most stressful industry. Here, the average salary range falls between £18,000 and £31,000. 3,260 out of every 100,000 workers reported stress-related illnesses, highlighting the vulnerability of security guards and prison officers to work-induced stress.

Rounding out the top three is the education sector. While the average salary range sits comfortably between £28,000 and £40,000, 2,720 individuals per 100,000 reported work-related stress – almost 3 in every 100.

Work stress and burnout take a toll

The research explores the health risks associated with various occupations, however, it’s crucial to address another significant factor impacting the UK workforce: the rise in long-term illness leading to economic inactivity.

According to ONS data on the subject, 9.2 million people aged between 16 and 64 in the UK are not in work nor looking for a job. The total figure is more than 700,000 higher than before the pandemic. This number has remained persistently high in recent years, contributing to significant workforce shortages.

Conclusion

While this study highlights the most stressful careers in the UK, it serves as a springboard for further discussion on employee wellbeing.  Understanding high-risk sectors allows for targeted interventions.

Employers must prioritise mental health support within these industries.  This could involve implementing stress management programs, offering flexible work arrangements, and fostering open communication channels for employees to voice concerns.

Continuous feedback mechanisms are also crucial. Regular check-ins with employees can help identify individuals struggling with workload or burnout. Open communication paves the way for adjustments and ensures employee well-being remains a top priority.