Employers are committed to improving the quality of jobs in the UK but lack guidance about how to achieve it, according to a new report by The Work Foundation.

Far fromseeing decent quality jobs and commercial or organisational success as conflicting objectives, the report shows that growing numbers of employers see them as mutually supporting goals.

Employers understood a ‘good job’ to involve: being valued and appreciated, interest and fulfilment, job satisfaction, autonomy, decent working conditions, morale and teamwork, effective management, and staff development Although 78 per cent did not mention pay, 22 per cent cited it as an important feature.

Poor quality of jobs was seen as being part of an underlying explanation for many persistent workforce issues they faced including sickness absence, retention, poor motivation levels and difficulties hiring the right people.

Stephen Bevan, managing director of The Work Foundation said: “Employers grasp the link between staff wellbeing and howit can affect productivity.What is missing is howto deliver this. As organisations prepare for recovery after the recession, the need for the government to take a lead in supporting employers to tackle the root causes of lost productivity and illhealth will become more and more acute. But the responsibility for health and wellbeing of the workforce is spread across different government departments.We need one centralised body with a clear identity and a clear remit to work in partnership with employers to crack many of the UK’s persistent job quality problems.”

Stephen Bevan also called for companies to be required to report job quality outcomes in their annual reports.