Millions of adults in the UK unhappy in current job but don’t do anything about it

New research has today revealed that, despite millions of adults claiming to be unhappy in their job, very few actually take steps to make a change.

With the New Year upon us and people thinking about what they want to achieve from the coming year, a University of Derby survey has revealed that 39% of people rated their happiness at 5 or lower (1 being extremely unhappy and 10 being extremely happy) and the average happiness score was 6%.

The research, which interviewed people of different age groups across the UK, revealed that more than a quarter (27%) said they were bored with their current job and more than one in five (22%) said they would now choose a different career path if they had the opportunity to.

The average adult spends 13 hours a week online using various social media platforms and online shopping while just less than one in five (19%) think it is too late for them to go back into education.

Julie Stone, Director of University of Derby Online Learning (UDOL) said: “With more and more people spending so much time browsing online they could put this to good use to retrain or gain new qualifications from the comfort of their own homes.

“This is a huge proportion of the population who are unhappy in their current job. Now is a better time than ever to log off social media and use the time more wisely to develop your career.

“We understand that on-campus degrees aren’t feasible for everyone which is why at the University of Derby we have a wide range of online courses dedicated to people who want to upskill or retrain at a time and place to suit them.”

Online learning is a method of delivering education online opposed to onsite. Due to the development of technology in recent years, online learning has grown in popularity and sophistication.

There are a variety of courses available online ranging from MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) which are short, free courses run by major learning providers to share their knowledge of a particular academic topic, to higher level qualifications including advanced diplomas and masters, to top-up degrees.

As the thriving online learning division of the University, UDOL is dedicated to providing part-time online degree programmes, professional courses and CPD opportunities to people around the world who require more flexible study options.