The latest Happiness at Work Index, a regular barometer of workplace morale, shows that employee happiness has steadily decreased during 2011. The percentage of workers reporting high levels of morale has fallen from almost half (46.6%) in January to two fifths (40.6%) in March to the current figure of just 36.5%.

The Government has announced new areas that it will consider reforming as part of its review of employment red tape – including collective redundancy consultation periods, the Transfer Undertakings Protection of Employment Regulations (TUPE) and compensation for discrimination awarded by employment tribunals.

Employee confidence and trust in senior leaders has dropped to record lows as the economic downturn continues to erode workers’ standard of living and undermine job security. These are the headline findings from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) spring 2011 Employee Outlook survey based on a representative sample of 2,000 people in employment in the UK.

Redundancies look set to rise sharply in the first quarter of 2011 in the public sector as Government cuts bite, according to this quarter’s Labour Market Outlook from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and KPMG. However, job creation in the private sector offers some hope to the overall employment picture.

The latest CIPD Employee Outlook Survey shows that employees are concerned over their standard of living and job security.