A third of your life is spent at work, but what determines your workplace well-being? That’s the question that Dr. Martin Boult, Senior Director Professional Services & International Training, The Myers-Briggs Company, asked before starting a three-year international study on workplace well-being.
His new report, titled “Well-being in the Workplace” explores the most effective activities for enhancing well-being and its benefits for both people and organisations*. The study of more than 10,000 people from 131 countries compared workplace well-being across geographies, occupations, genders, personality types and age. Boult, along with Dr. Rich Thompson, Senior Director Research, The Myers-Briggs Company, also analysed relationships between workplace well-being and organisational outcomes such as commitment and job satisfaction. The study showed that:
Well-being improves with age
The youngest age group (18-24 years) reported the lowest levels of well-being (6.77) and the oldest age group (65+ years) reported the highest (8.14).
Gender plays a role in workplace well-being
While men and women have similar levels of well-being at work (men = 7.45; women = 7.52), women reported slightly higher levels of engagement (women = 7.47; men = 7.29) and positive emotions (women = 7.22; men = 7.13). This suggests women’s overall well-being may be supported by emotions that link to levels of interest and enjoyment they get from their work.
Some jobs make people happier
Workers reported the highest well-being in occupations involving service-related work: Education and training; Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations; Community and social services occupations.
Workers reported the lowest workplace well-being levels in more practical, physical jobs
Food preparation and service; Production.
Well-being is similar around the world.
Participants from Australia/New Zealand and Latin America reported the highest levels of well-being (7.83 out of 10), while participants in Asia (7.38) reported the lowest. The similar levels being reported suggest that regional culture may have less of an effect on workplace well-being than previously thought. Relationships are the leading contributor to workplace well-being. Relationships ranked the highest contributing aspect of well-being (7.85 out of 10), followed by Meaning (7.69), Accomplishments (7.66), Engagement (7.43), and Positive Emotions (7.19 out of 10).
Workplace well-being is related to organisational outcomes.
Higher levels of workplace well-being correlated with: Higher levels of job satisfaction; Higher commitment to the organisation; Citizenship behaviors such as increased discretionary effort to help co-workers and contributing to organisational objectives; Employees being less likely to have plans to look for a new job
As Sherrie Haynie, Director of US Professional Services for The Myers-Briggs Company, recently described in Forbes, happiness and profit are synergistic.
Employees interested in their tasks have higher well-being. Participants rated the most effective activities in order of importance as:
Focusing on work tasks that interest me; Focusing on a work task that makes me feel positive; Undertaking work where I learn something new; Taking breaks at work when needed; Undertaking challenging work that adds to my skills and knowledge
Martin Boult said,
Research shows up to 80 per cent of people in large companies aren’t engaged at work. This means huge losses in productivity. Improving employee well-being is crucial for improving engagement. The biggest lever you can pull to get started is fostering more productive workplace relationships.
Interested in workplace wellbeing and employee engagement? We recommend the Workplace Wellbeing and Stress Forum 2019 and Optimising Performance through Organisational Design training day.
Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!
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