Many U.K. risk professionals are feeling insecure about their jobs as they watch their budgets shrink, a survey by the London-based Institute of Risk Management reveals.

The survey, conducted during the past two months and released Thursday, showed 44% of several hundred IRM members who responded felt less secure in their jobs than they did a year ago. Less than 1 in 5 felt more secure, and 35% felt the same, the survey showed.

Nearly one-third of the respondents said their risk management budgets will decrease during the next year, while 26% expect an increase.

Organizations need to put appropriate resources into managing risks if they want to achieve business objectives and take advantage of opportunities in an economic upturn, said Steve Fowler, chief executive of IRM.

“You would like to think that people are now more conscious of risk management, but it does not look like awareness is being translated into action, which means that we are repeating the same mistakes,” Mr. Fowler said in a statement.