The last 12 months have made many of us question our work-life balance. According to a recent study, around two-thirds of young people have even reassessed what they want from their careers because of Covid-19.
And because working from home is likely to remain standard practice until summer at the earliest, there’s still time to consider whether a big move could do you good.
With this in mind, it’s definitely interesting to check out new research revealing the “happiest” places to work in the UK.
Now, clearly “happiness” is a somewhat subjective concept, but SmartSurvey compiled its list by taking into account six factors rooted in hard data. These included the average salary in each city, the average number of basic hours worked, and the average number of overtime hours worked.
Given that one study suggests Brits are working more than a thousand hours of unpaid overtime each year, that last figure is definitely an important one.
SmartSurvey also factored in the average happiness score and average life satisfaction score in each city – both based on the latest ONS (Office for National Statistics) polling – and the average commute time.
Edinburgh places first with an average salary higher than any other city in the top ten: £28,829. The Scottish capital also benefits from relatively low overtime hours (2.3 per week) and a high life satisfaction score of 7.6 out of 10.
Three cities on England’s south coast – Bournemouth, Brighton and Southend-on-Sea – finish second, third and fourth respectively. They all benefit from high life satisfaction scores and average commutes of around 20 minutes or under.
Meanwhile, London finishes outside of the top 10 in 13th position. Though the capital has the highest average salary (£32,533), it also has high overtime tours (3.3 per week) and a relatively lengthy average commute of 36 minutes.
As any past or present Londoner will know, that last figure is hardly a shocker – if anything, it seems a little on the low side. Check out the top 10 happiest cities to work below.
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