Who are the happiest people at work?

The results are in, and it turns out the happiest workers in the UK are older men employed by microbusinesses, within marketing, communications or advertising – it’s a fairly niche group, but they’re the most contented of all!

The news comes from a survey of 1,024 workers by One4all Rewards, which asked employees from a range of age groups, genders and industries to score out of ten how happy they are in their current roles.

The happiest age bracket, those aged 55+, scored 6.91; men were happier than women, scoring 6.85 vs. 6.87; and the marketing, communications and advertising industries scored a healthy 8.13.

In addition, the happiest workers were within smaller UK companies, such as microbusinesses employing less than four members of staff.

Overall, the average UK employee rated their morale at 6.81 out of ten – although 22 per cent rated their happiness at eight out of ten, which suggests the British workforce have a positive attitude towards work in general. Only 13 per cent rated their happiness fewer than five out of ten.

There were a range of factors effecting the happiness levels of employees – perhaps unsurprisingly, remuneration for the work done was cited as the most important factor.

Other factors that affect happiness include: relationships with colleagues, the nature of the work, access to flexible working, relationships with management, the physical working environment, annual leave allocation, the workload, training opportunities and financial bonuses.

Alan Smith, UK managing director at One4all Rewards, said: “It is interesting to see how happiness levels vary between the different demographics.

“For example, those aged 55 and over are happier than any other age group – but interestingly they are also amongst the most likely to believe that the nature of the work they do plays the most key role in their morale at work – putting more emphasis on this than salary, bonuses, annual leave or anything that can be seen as more tangible.

“This is a factor for other age groups as well, but it’s only those aged 45 and over who prioritise this above salary. Clearly, the UK workforce recognises that money is not everything – but one size definitely doesn’t fit all. In order to maintain or significantly improve morale, it is important for employers to take note of what drives the different kinds of individuals in their workforce.”