- Despite barely missing out on the top spot, the capital ranked highest out of all cities surveyed for happiness indicators including commute length, diversity and happiness at home
Following reports that London has been voted the world’s most popular place to work1, a new study into job satisfaction has revealed that London has the second-happiest workers in the UK.
Described as a ‘talent magnet’ attracting workers from across the globe, the capital is renowned for its convenient proximity to mainland Europe, young population (the average age is 35!) 2, and diverse jobs market. But how do these factors impact overall happiness in the workplace – from commute length to cost of living?
Office furniture specialists Furniture At Work has ranked the UK’s largest cities to find the best and worst regions for workplace happiness, considering flexible working opportunities and the average salary per region, amongst other workplace and lifestyle factors.Â
Following Edinburgh in first place and ahead of Bristol in third, London had the highest number of local companies featured in the Best Companies top ten list at 38.
Falling short in the study was Liverpool, Portsmouth, and Bradford, facing a crisis of joy and workplace mental health, which saw them rounding out the bottom three.
The happiest to least happiest cities to work in are:Â
Rank |
City |
Index Score |
1 |
Edinburgh |
84.1 |
2 |
London |
78.6 |
3 |
Bristol |
75.3 |
4 |
Leeds |
69.9 |
5 |
Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
69.2 |
6 |
Glasgow |
68.4 |
7 |
Reading |
59 |
8 |
Nottingham |
57.4 |
9 |
Manchester |
56.2 |
10 |
Southampton |
51.4 |
11 |
Cardiff |
50.3 |
12 |
Birmingham |
48.4 |
13 |
Sheffield |
48.3 |
14 |
Coventry |
48.1 |
15 |
Derby |
47.6 |
16 |
Brighton |
46.7 |
17 |
Plymouth |
40.8 |
18 |
Kingston-upon-Hull |
35.8 |
19 |
Liverpool |
34.4 |
20 |
Portsmouth |
32.4 |
21 |
Bradford |
23.1 |
A spokesperson at Furniture At Work, commented on the research: “Looking at the results of this study, it’s no surprise that London continues to be one of the world’s most desirable cities to work and study in – especially thanks to the world-class public transport available to speed up commute times and diverse population allowing communities to flourish.”