One in five UK employees are frustrated in their jobs, according to new research.

50 per cent eel that they do not have the authority to make decisions crucial to their jobs and only a third said that their job made the best use of their skills, the study based on research from over one million employees found.

Other frustrations included failure by managers to generate a high performance culture and energising workplace atmosphere.

Ben Hubbard, EMEA regional director in the employee survey division at Hay Group, the consultancy that carried out the research, warned that the “frustrated employee phenomenon” posed a major business risk and represented a significant lost opportunity.

“With fierce competition for the most talented employees, companies’ efforts to engage their people will be wasted if not backed by a supportive and enabling environment. Business leaders must ensure that induction, development programmes and support structures are all designed to maintain the right people in the right roles at the right time,” he said.

The survey also identified a failure by managers to address underperformance as a factor that drives employee frustration. Less than half (48 per cent) of organisations were found to deal with it effectively.

“Tolerating poor performers will only compound the frustration of productive colleagues to pick up the slack,” added Hubbard.