Happiness at work index

Happiness at work index

The Happiness at Work Index has some thought-provoking findings: a quarter of employees describe themselves as happy at work, one in five says they’re not; women are happier than men; the happiest employees are the ones working for smaller companies; the longer you stay with an organisation or in the same role, the less happy you are; people who work part-time are happiest; the happiest employees are the ones aged 55 and up and 73 per cent cite relationships with colleagues as being the key factor in happiness at work. And one of the biggest causes of unhappiness at work is the lack of communication from the top.

Studies like this always get me thinking. If people are unhappy because they’ve been somewhere for yonks, it’s like being in a bad marriage. There’s one obvious solution.

Part time workers might be happy, but what about the ones who can’t get enough work? The study says rewards and benefits do not in themselves make us happy but not having them makes us miserable. Hmm, I must run that past people on average salaries who have enormous mortgages, school fees and bills to pay.

This happiness article is from the Age in Melbourne. To read the full happiness at work story – click here.