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With the number of unemployed workers available for jobs at its highest level since December 2020, and UK inflation predicted to remain above government targets until 2025, Britain’s marketers are feeling uncertain about their future with 71% fearing for the security of their job, according to research from SurveyMonkey.
This year poses a unique challenge for businesses and their employees as companies look to cut budgets and employees as solutions to weather economic uncertainty, finding ways to do more with less. Over half (58%) of British marketers believe this year could be worse for the long-term health of their business than the COVID-19 pandemic with a third (33%) feeling nervous about the survival of their business past the next year.
Squeezed budgets lead businesses to do more with less
Set against a challenging economic backdrop with high levels of business uncertainty, employees are bearing the brunt of businesses’ budget cuts. As businesses look to cut their spending, they are downsizing not just budgets, but whole departments and teams. This is being felt by marketing teams, with almost half (44%) feeling that their department’s team and budget have been cut in the past 12 months. In fact, over a quarter (29%) believe that up to 25% of staff have been let go in the past year.
Despite many feeling the squeeze of a reduced budget and team, 43% claim their department is expected to provide the same amount of work with reduced resources, while a quarter (25%) claim their department is expected to provide more work.
AI is seen as an important tool in marketers futures
Just when economic uncertainty is causing businesses to tighten their belts, AI technology, such as generative AI tools like ChatGPT, are allowing for optimisations to be made and business costs reduced.
While more than a fourth (29%) of marketers believe that AI poses a direct threat to their jobs and could make their role redundant, the majority (71%) don’t see AI as a threat. In fact, nearly half (49%) believe that AI would be able to handle part of their day-to-day tasks.
Some marketers who believe that AI may impact the workplace have an optimistic view, with 37% believing that while AI will replace some human roles, it will also create new jobs that don’t yet exist. Over half (57%) also note that AI is essential to the long term survival of their business.
Cormac Kelly, Senior Director of Customer Success EMEA, SurveyMonkey says, “Businesses are continuing to have to make difficult decisions in a difficult economy to drive profitability, and marketers are feeling the pressure in the demands of the job.”
“With many marketers having to work with reduced budgets and teams, it’s important that business leaders ensure that their employees feel valued, appreciated, and heard. Gathering and acting upon feedback from stakeholders, including employees and customers alike, can ensure that marketers feel valued in the workplace and are able to deliver impactful results for customers.”
