More than two fifths of UK managers are expecting more redundancies in 2012 and over a third feel insecure in their own jobs, according to the annual end of year research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

Over half of the managers surveyed felt that they would be unlikely to get another job if they were to be made redundant.

The Future Forecast report reveals that optimism about the UK's economic performance remains low for 2012 at just 8%. Restructuring of public finances, the price of energy and the instability of the euro are all the top factors which managers expect to have a damaging impact on their organisations next year. Alongside that, managers are nervous about their organisations' people capabilities with 43% feeling their place of work did not have the right staff to fulfill business objectives in 2012.

A shortage of the key skills was highlighted as the primary issue preventing organisations from meeting their business objectives with poor leadership, insufficient experience and a lack of enough employees also contributing.

Christopher Kinsella, CMI chief executive, said: "It is obvious from our research that 2011 has been yet another difficult year for managers so it comes as no surprise, that we are not seeing an optimistic forecast for 2012. We started 2011 with high hopes that the economic situation was improving and workplaces would start to feel the effects of recovery. Sadly, it's evident that this year has been one of the most difficult UK managers have ever had to face. There are areas where organisations can continue to develop and we would urge managers to particularly focus on their people capabilities and ensuring their businesses have the right people, with the right skills set to fulfil their business objectives in the New Year.”

Employers for Carers fully agree that focusing on people capabilities is vital to ensuring the success of a business. Caroline Waters, chair of EfC and Director, People and Policy for BT Group believes that promoting flexibility in the way people work will help organisations attract talented people from often overlooked parts of society (ie carers), and retain essential skills, increase productivity, cut costs and release the real potential of organisations. She has often said that supporting carers in your workforce isn’t difficult, disruptive or expensive it’s just plain business sense – a small change in working hours or flexible arrangements can make all the difference both to your carer and to your business.

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