US and UK firms are losing a total of $37 billion (18.7 billion) each year because workers do not fully understand their jobs, new research shows.

The study, conducted by Cognisco, revealed that unplanned downtime (32 per cent), poor procurement practice (17 per cent) and the cost of settling employment tribunals (16 per cent) are the biggest cause of financial loss due to this lack of knowledge.

It also predicts that the actual cost of such incidents could be even higher as they will have an impact on brand, reputation and customer satisfaction.

Just one in three companies have taken steps to address such issues, the report finds.

Mary Clarke, chief executive officer of Cognisco, said: "Obviously if an employee misunderstands or misinterprets actions there will be repercussions from loss of business to impaired brand image.

"But what is often not measured, is the employee's confidence to take the appropriate actions which can also have a significant impact."

Recently, a study by consultants Common Purpose found that 43 per cent of workers feel that taking more business risks will be an important factor in helping their organisation survive a recession.

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