According to a new study, Edinburgh is the happiest place to work in Britain, beating London and Bristol.
The research was conducted by Furniture At Work (office furniture specialists), and assessed the workplace happiness in major cities. Factors such as salary averages, cost of living and flexible working opportunities were taken into consideration.
It comes at a time when the UK labour market is experiencing a difficult period, with more employees staying in their jobs despite an alarming increase in absences due to mental illness. Mental health is the cause of 51 percent long-term sickness leave, according to reports.
Flexible working is now a legal right for UK workers in response to the growing concern over mental health at work. This follows reports that flexible working increased job happiness by 65 per cent. In addition to flexible work arrangements and cost of living, commute times are important factors that contribute to workplace happiness.
The study evaluated cities based on workplace and lifestyle indicators. Edinburgh emerged as the happiest city to work. The Scottish capital was ranked first for life satisfaction. This is a metric which evaluates happiness, anxiety and overall contentment. Edinburgh also ranked second for the highest average salaries among all the cities that were surveyed.
London, Bristol, Portsmouth and Bradford were the three cities with the lowest levels. These challenges are linked to mental health at work and general dissatisfaction.
The UK’s Happiest Cities to work in (Index score):
- Edinburgh 84.1
- London 78.6
- Bristol 75.3
- Leeds 69.9
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne – 69.2
- Glasgow – 68.5
- Reading 59.0
- Nottingham (57.4
- Manchester -56.2
- Southampton 51.4
- Bradford 23.1
Furniture At Work spokesperson highlighted the importance of evaluating how work affects overall life satisfaction. Work satisfaction is not just about the job, but also how it affects life outside of work. Our findings provide employers with insights on how to create a positive work culture. Regular pay reviews, wellness check-ins and flexible working arrangements are key factors in improving employee satisfaction and retention.
This study is a timely reminder that there are many factors that influence workplace wellbeing.
