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New survey launched to measure workplace wellbeing

Published

More than a third of UK workers are unhappy in their job, according to a new happiness score developed with the help of a Saïd Business School Professor.

Global job site Indeed created their Work Happiness Score with guidance from Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Professor of Economics at Oxford Saïd. 

Newly launched to the public, the score currently displays data from more than 1,800 organisations in the UK, across 25 different sectors. It aims to understand how employees feel at work, and why, by allowing current and former employees to rate companies on a scale of one to five based on a simple statement, 'I feel happy at work most of the time'. 

To get a sense of the drivers and dimensions of workplace happiness, it also asks about a range of areas, including belonging; appreciation; inclusion; purpose; trust; flexibility; energy; stress and manager support. More than 5.5 million individual surveys on UK workplace wellbeing have been collected and analysed to date, with results showing that feeling energised, a sense of belonging and purpose are bigger drivers of happiness than fair pay and flexibility.

Happiness at work is critical to people's wellbeing for obvious reasons but it is also a driver of their productivity and success

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve.

Professor of Economics

Commenting on the launch, Professor De Neve said: 

‘Happiness at work is critical to people's wellbeing for obvious reasons but it is also a driver of their productivity and success. So employers are well-advised to get the emotional pulse of their organisation and have a frequent measure of workplace happiness.

That’s why I’m thrilled to have been involved in developing Indeed’s Work Happiness Score to offer employers and employees robust measures of work happiness, and its drivers, that can be readily compared across thousands of organisations.

Globally, we’ve analysed nearly six million happiness surveys so far making the Work Happiness Score the world’s largest study of work happiness and as someone who has spent years of my career studying wellbeing, I am excited to see how these publicly available survey results will change how people choose jobs and how employers build workplace cultures. 

This is only the beginning and I’m so excited to witness the positive impact this score has on fostering happy and thriving workforces across the UK and globally.’

 

Read about Professor De Neve's wellbeing research on his profile. 

The score offers transparency to help jobseekers and employers make better choices and build a better world of work.

LaFawn Davis

Senior Vice President, Environmental, Social & Governance at Indeed

LaFawn Davis, Senior Vice President, Environmental, Social & Governance at Indeed, said: 

'Happiness should not be a privilege but when it comes to work, it’s a fundamental right.

Measuring happiness is key to understanding employee experience and creating happier organisations, which is why Indeed worked with experts to develop the Work Happiness Score. It offers further transparency to help jobseekers and employers make better choices and build a better world of work.

Job postings in the UK have soared above their pre-pandemic level. As the labour market shakes off the ill-effects of the pandemic, the adjustments caused by Covid-19 have tipped the balance of power in favour of jobseekers. 

For employers, this means taking a holistic approach to employee wellbeing, and our Work Happiness Score will make it easier for them to measure drivers of happiness to see where improvements can be made. For jobseekers, the feature provides key insights into work environments where they will be happiest.

While many UK workers are unhappy, there are reasons for optimism. An overwhelming majority of people believe happiness at work is possible and while some sectors are more satisfied than others, we know happiness is possible in all workplaces.'

 

Take the Work Happiness Score survey.