Nearly half of workers fear for jobs because UK voted for Brexit

Almost half of workers feel pessimistic about the future because of the vote to leave the European Union, a new study shows.

A survey of 1,000 adults revealed that public sector employees, and younger workers, were particularly downbeat.

One in five of those questioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said they felt they had to update their skills because of the Brexit decision.

The research also revealed that some workers had witnessed racist incidents and bullying relating to the referendum vote.

Ben Willmott, of the CIPD, said: "This survey shows that Brexit has proved to be a seismic event in people's working lives and reveals that there is significant level of pessimism in the immediate aftermath of the vote.

"This is especially prevalent amongst public and voluntary sector workers who are already showing signs of feeling less secure in their roles and expect the economic consequences of Brexit to adversely affect their jobs.

"Hopefully, as the political and economic situation becomes clearer, this will subside, but in the short term there is a clear need for UK employers to do more to engage with their workforce about the likely effects of Brexit on their organisation."

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