Almost half (41 per cent) of professionals in the South West claim their expectations are not being met by their current employer.

This compares with just a quarter of employees in London (26 per cent), the North East (27 per cent) and the East Midlands (27 per cent), and a third of employees in Yorkshire & Humber (32 per cent) and the North West (34 per cent), who say their employers are falling short of expectations.

Employees in the South West are also among the least loyal, with over half (51 per cent) having been with their current employer for less than a year. Scotland has the most loyal workforce, with 38 per cent of professionals remaining with their current employer for over three years.

Despite their unhappiness with their employers, less than a fifth (17 per cent) of employees in the South West say that they would relocate to another region for a better lifestyle.

This contrasts with a large proportion of professionals from the rest of the country who would relocate for a better lifestyle - Wales (80 per cent), Yorkshire & Humber (50 per cent), North West (42 per cent), Scotland (38 per cent), the Midlands (38 per cent), and London (36 per cent).

The findings come from a new report from recruiter Robert Walters.

Professionals in the South West said that work-life balance (56 per cent), a competitive salary (48 per cent), location (47 per cent), clear development and progression (44 per cent), flexible working hours (43 per cent), and being valued (29 per cent) were the most important factors when looking at a new job opportunity.

More than a third of professionals in the South West (39 per cent) would be open to moving to an interim or temporary position, with flexibility (26 per cent), increase in pay (22 per cent), and the opportunity to learn new skills (21 per cent) as the key reasons for this.

Chris Hickey, UK CEO at Robert Walters, said: "It's a competitive environment for recruiting talent, with hiring managers having to contend with a UK-wide candidate shortage. It will be crucial now more than ever that companies work hard to improve their workplace environment and job offering, in order to attract the best candidates. Central to this is tapping into what makes employees within the region tick."

What do you think? Are we a dissatisfied bunch in the South West? Email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk 

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