Employers can boost staff engagement by offering opportunities for training and development, according to the Institute for Employment Studies (IES).
Research fellow Dilys Robinson said there is a "strong link" between people’s perceptions of their professional development and their level of engagement with their company.
"It’s not important to everybody to progress but it’s important to a lot of people", he explained, suggesting that development opportunities could make the difference between employees staying with their current organisation or seeking a new job.
His comments come after research by the Trades Union Congress revealed that 30 per cent of UK workers feel their company offers poor promotion prospects and 27 per cent believe they are not provided with enough training.
A separate survey by the market research company GfK NOP found that 69 per cent of employees who claim to be dissatisfied in their jobs intend to leave within the next 12 months.