Imposter Syndrome; 38% of UK Workers suffer from it
Imposter Syndrome
New data from leading search engine Adzuna reveals that only 62% of the UK workforce are confident in their jobs. The research explores career confidence across the UK. It reveals that 38% of employed adults are not completely confident they can fulfil all their job requirements. 2% admitting they always doubt their capabilities.
Here is a list of the most employees who are not confident in their current position:
- Artist/Designer/Creative (52%)
- Finance (47%)
- Media/PR/Marketing (46%)
- Doctor/Nurse/Dentist (44%)
- IT (43%)
Those in a creative and technical role are least confident about their abilities. Unsurprisingly those working in sales report being the most confident with 78% being fully confident. Followed by plumbers, electricians and builders (72%) and retail workers (68%).
67% of men claim they are 100% confident with their abilities to fulfil their role requirements, compared to just 58% of women. Confidence also seems to come from age with 88% aged 65 or over claims they are fully confident in their abilities. Compared with only 57% of workers aged between 18 and 24 years of age.
Confidence lacking across the UK, with only 54% said they feel completely secure on their job. With 24% saying the reason was because of recent job losses in their industry. Some other concerns were competitive job market (17%) and the impact of Brexit (14%).
Adzuna spoke to Tania Taylor, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Psychotherapist in Solution Focused Therapy, regarding the recent research:
“We all have negative self-talk, it’s part of being human. It’s actually a system designed to protect us from danger and to keep us alive. Whilst it’s extremely valuable in the instance of preventing us from putting ourselves in truly dangerous situations, sometimes it can manifest its way into our every thought and begin to impact on our behaviours too.
“When we can recognise negative unhelpful thoughts for what they are, we can learn to respond to them appropriately. For example, if that inner negative voice tells us “We’re not good enough”; we can have a prepared statement ready to respond to that specific thought to help us cope better with it. “I am good enough, I got this job because of x, y, and z” and so on.
“There will be instances throughout your working day when you’re less negative towards yourself too, maybe when you’re really engaged in a project or part of your job that you love. When we identify these circumstances, we can build upon them and notice what is different and use these transferable skills for times when we’re really struggling.”
Commenting on the findings further, Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna adds:
“A competitive job market and industry can lead to some people feeling like they are left behind when it comes to updating their skill set, but it’s important to always keep up to date with your chosen industry. Seeking further development and training in your current role will help you build on your skillset whilst showing your dedication to your own career progression.
“Should you decide a new job is what you need to give yourself a confidence boost, make sure you include all of your latest experience and skills on your CV. Listing these alongside your achievements will help highlight your key strengths and could even be a confidence boost within itself!”
