Two thirds of the Oxfordshire workforce do not feel valued by their boss, a new report has revealed.

That means out of a total working population of 329,000, more than 197,000 say they are not being treated as well as they should be.

Experts at internal communications advisers Ptarmigan, which commissioned the survey, says poor communication is the main reason.

The majority do not receive regular information from their employer and of those who do, one in four say it is not presented in the right way.

Also, 40 per cent of those who do receive internal communications, feel they are irrelevant to their job, while others cite too much business jargon and many are just plain confused.

Clare Cockroft, joint head of Ptarmigan's internal communications division, said: "This paints a depressing picture of businesses in Oxfordshire leaving employees out in the cold rather than communicating with them in a regular, clear and engaging way.

"And even those companies who have recognised the importance of internal communications, put too little resource into this function to allow it to work effectively."

"Bosses in Oxfordshire need to re-evaluate their treatment of staff above and beyond basic pay and benefit schemes."

The survey also showed more than half of those questioned in Oxfordshire liked to know what is going on in their company.

But only 25 per cent felt their employer invited them to express their views.

Ms Cockroft said: "Some employers hide behind a wall of silence mistakenly believing they are protecting staff from the realities of business, when uncertainly, rumour and suspicion can cause more damage.

"In particular, businesses struggling or going through rough patches need to engage staff in order to work together and emerge unscathed.

"Otherwise the sailors will abandon a ship perceived to be sinking."