Whether you’re running a business or simply taking charge of your own career, these are uneasy times. Ashley Wheeler shares LinkedIn’s new Workforce Confidence Index which is a fortnightly snapshot based on a poll of 1,024 members across the UK, asking how they feel about getting or holding a job, improving their financial situation or advancing in their careers.

We will be tracking this index on an ongoing basis to see how professional confidence trends as we continue to wade through uncharted territory in our economy.

Key findings from the inaugural Workplace Confidence Index (1-7 April) include:

• The overall UK #WorkforceConfidenceIndex was +13 (on a scale of -100 to +100), with positive sentiment slightly outweighing negative.
• Those at Director level or above, plus part-time employees, the self-employed and jobseekers have a less positive outlook than the UK as a whole.
• Nearly a quarter of respondents said they will, in the next two weeks, increase the amount of time they spend searching for a new job.
• Some 35% of respondents said their income had decreased in the past month, with the self-employed seeming to be the hardest hit – a whopping 75% reported a drop in income over the period.
• Some 59% of those surveyed said their companies are offering the chance to work remotely, but only 42% have been provided with the necessary equipment to do so.