Britain's workforce is suffering from a motivation crisis that is seriously harming productivity.
A study by management consultancy Hay Group found that just 15 per cent of UK workers considered themselves "highly motivated", with as many as a quarter admitting to "coasting" in their jobs.
Equally worrying was that a tenth of workers said they were "completely demotivated".
Well under half of employees loved their jobs, and even fewer – a paltry 17 per cent – described themselves as doing their "dream job".
Fewer than half also considered themselves ambitious, said Hay Group.
Such high levels of poor staff motivation were cutting productivity by close to half, the survey also found.
Just a fifth of British workers considered themselves "very effective" in their current job role.
Employees believed they would be as much as 45 per cent more productive if they were doing a job they loved, and 28 per cent more productive with better training.
A 45 per cent increase in employee productivity could be worth up to £340bn added output per year to the UK service sector alone, with a 28 per cent increase worth some £212 billion, the survey suggested.
Poor management was a key part of the problem, with employees feeling they could be 28 per cent more productive with a better boss.
Emmanuel Gobillot, director of leadership services and author of the report, said: "Companies are failing to engage their employees – and paying a heavy price in productivity.
"British business leaders must focus on gaining the buy-in of workers if Britain is to be competitive in an increasingly global economy," he added.
