What makes an unhappy worker? Researchers at the London School of Economics (http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp1187.pdf) used a phone app to allow tens of thousands of people to record their happiness while carrying out their various daily activities. They found that the only thing that makes people unhappier than being at work is laying in bed sick. There seems to be something about many people's working lives that makes them miserable. But not everyone hates their job, and not all jobs are bad. So what are the features of a job that have been found to make people unhappy?
Two things that seem to be bad for people are lack of autonomy at work, and lack of control over their work. It has been shown that lack of control over their work causes people stress, which may cause health problems, or encourage unhealthy 'coping behaviours' such as smoking or excessive drinking. Lack of autonomy could stem from the way the work process is designed. Some jobs (often low-paid jobs which require few qualifications) are repetitive and boring. Moreover, some employers 'infantilize' their workers in an attempt to increase productivity. A friend who worked in a call centre was not allowed to have their mobile phone or other personal belongings at their desk, and their toilet breaks were monitored to make sure they didn't spend too much time away from their work. A feeling of lack of autonomy could also result from being told what to do all the time. A taxi driver I spoke to left his job at a supermarket because managers 'were always on his back'. He preferred to work longer hours driving a taxi because he was his own boss, and had no one telling him what to do. The idea of 'being your own boss' is intuitively appealing to many people, and while it is not realistic for everyone to be self-employed, it is possible to redesign workplace management and decision-making processes to give workers more control over their jobs.
Other harmful features of work are high, 'borderless' or unpredictable job demands, and an unclear job role. Having an excessively high workload, never being able to see an end to your work, not being able to predict and plan your work load, or being unclear what is required of you to do your job well can all cause negative emotional and psychological responses. The rise of 'zero hours' contracts, which give no guarantees of shifts or work patterns, are worrying in this regard. Research by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that up to 1 million UK workers may be on such contracts (http://www.cipd.co.uk/pressoffice/press-releases/zero-hours-contracts-more-widespread-thought-050813.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cipd&utm_campaign=cipdupdate&utm_content=070813_na_textlink_editorial-przerohrs), and the number has been growing in recent years (http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/6251%20Megatrends%20%28WEB%29.pdf).
Lack of social support when negotiating difficulties at work, from peers or from supervisors and managers, can cause negative emotional and psychological reactions, and stress. Research has found that an individual's perception that social support won't be there when it's needed is particularly harmful. An individual's perception may reflect the general supportive or unsupportive atmosphere of their workplace. Further, working under an unempathetic, emotionally distant or non-responsive manager, who is not sympathetic to the demands of an individual's job, can be very upsetting. Other social aspects of work that are bad for health are negative relationships and workplace conflict. Bullying is a particularly severe form of negative relationship, and is surprisingly common in UK workplaces (http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D9105C52-7FED-42EA-A557-D1785DF6D34F/0/bullyatwork0405.pdf.).
Finally, lack of reciprocity in the relationship between employees and employer has been shown to harm workers' health. Work is based on social norms of exchange and reciprocity between employee and employer. The employee does a hard day's work according to their employer's requirements, and expects to be rewarded appropriately in terms of benefits such as pay, praise or recognition, and promotion. When this exchange is unbalanced - when a worker doesn't feel they are appropriately rewarded for their efforts - it may cause negative emotional and psychological reactions. This problem can be particularly severe in difficult economic circumstances such as those we face now. The material rewards from work decline as employers cut hours and freeze wages. Working conditions deteriorate as employers attempt to squeeze more work out of their employees, who feel unable to protest for fear of losing their jobs. People are unable to find jobs that match their skills, or can't get promoted in a slack labour market. All these things lead to the feeling amongst many that they are working harder and getting less in return. Indeed, figures just published show that real wages in the UK have seen some of the biggest falls in Europe (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23655605). Long term trends, such as globalization and the decline of collective employment relations, have also contributed to an increased imbalance between work efforts and rewards (http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/6251%20Megatrends%20%28WEB%29.pdf).
What can be done to combat negative working conditions and make workers happier? One solution is to give employees a say in their own working conditions. Some employers voluntarily involve their employees in decisions that affect their working conditions. Unfortunately, this is not enough, as employers are not obliged to listen to their workers and when times get tough they may be ignored. Employee rights and powers must be formal and legally enshrined so that employers are obliged to listen to their employees and give them a fair deal. This is why attacks on employees' rights, such as the Government's decision to make workers pay for the right to take their employer to a tribunal if they treat them unfairly (http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2013/07/what-todays-introduction-employment-tribunal-fees-really-means), are worrying. Backwards steps such as these, together with the long-term decline of trades unions as a means of workers standing up for their rights, contribute to bad working conditions and mean Britain's workers are some of the unhappiest in Europe.
Two things that seem to be bad for people are lack of autonomy at work, and lack of control over their work. It has been shown that lack of control over their work causes people stress, which may cause health problems, or encourage unhealthy 'coping behaviours' such as smoking or excessive drinking. Lack of autonomy could stem from the way the work process is designed. Some jobs (often low-paid jobs which require few qualifications) are repetitive and boring. Moreover, some employers 'infantilize' their workers in an attempt to increase productivity. A friend who worked in a call centre was not allowed to have their mobile phone or other personal belongings at their desk, and their toilet breaks were monitored to make sure they didn't spend too much time away from their work. A feeling of lack of autonomy could also result from being told what to do all the time. A taxi driver I spoke to left his job at a supermarket because managers 'were always on his back'. He preferred to work longer hours driving a taxi because he was his own boss, and had no one telling him what to do. The idea of 'being your own boss' is intuitively appealing to many people, and while it is not realistic for everyone to be self-employed, it is possible to redesign workplace management and decision-making processes to give workers more control over their jobs.
Other harmful features of work are high, 'borderless' or unpredictable job demands, and an unclear job role. Having an excessively high workload, never being able to see an end to your work, not being able to predict and plan your work load, or being unclear what is required of you to do your job well can all cause negative emotional and psychological responses. The rise of 'zero hours' contracts, which give no guarantees of shifts or work patterns, are worrying in this regard. Research by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that up to 1 million UK workers may be on such contracts (http://www.cipd.co.uk/pressoffice/press-releases/zero-hours-contracts-more-widespread-thought-050813.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cipd&utm_campaign=cipdupdate&utm_content=070813_na_textlink_editorial-przerohrs), and the number has been growing in recent years (http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/6251%20Megatrends%20%28WEB%29.pdf).
Lack of social support when negotiating difficulties at work, from peers or from supervisors and managers, can cause negative emotional and psychological reactions, and stress. Research has found that an individual's perception that social support won't be there when it's needed is particularly harmful. An individual's perception may reflect the general supportive or unsupportive atmosphere of their workplace. Further, working under an unempathetic, emotionally distant or non-responsive manager, who is not sympathetic to the demands of an individual's job, can be very upsetting. Other social aspects of work that are bad for health are negative relationships and workplace conflict. Bullying is a particularly severe form of negative relationship, and is surprisingly common in UK workplaces (http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D9105C52-7FED-42EA-A557-D1785DF6D34F/0/bullyatwork0405.pdf.).
Finally, lack of reciprocity in the relationship between employees and employer has been shown to harm workers' health. Work is based on social norms of exchange and reciprocity between employee and employer. The employee does a hard day's work according to their employer's requirements, and expects to be rewarded appropriately in terms of benefits such as pay, praise or recognition, and promotion. When this exchange is unbalanced - when a worker doesn't feel they are appropriately rewarded for their efforts - it may cause negative emotional and psychological reactions. This problem can be particularly severe in difficult economic circumstances such as those we face now. The material rewards from work decline as employers cut hours and freeze wages. Working conditions deteriorate as employers attempt to squeeze more work out of their employees, who feel unable to protest for fear of losing their jobs. People are unable to find jobs that match their skills, or can't get promoted in a slack labour market. All these things lead to the feeling amongst many that they are working harder and getting less in return. Indeed, figures just published show that real wages in the UK have seen some of the biggest falls in Europe (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23655605). Long term trends, such as globalization and the decline of collective employment relations, have also contributed to an increased imbalance between work efforts and rewards (http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/6251%20Megatrends%20%28WEB%29.pdf).
What can be done to combat negative working conditions and make workers happier? One solution is to give employees a say in their own working conditions. Some employers voluntarily involve their employees in decisions that affect their working conditions. Unfortunately, this is not enough, as employers are not obliged to listen to their workers and when times get tough they may be ignored. Employee rights and powers must be formal and legally enshrined so that employers are obliged to listen to their employees and give them a fair deal. This is why attacks on employees' rights, such as the Government's decision to make workers pay for the right to take their employer to a tribunal if they treat them unfairly (http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2013/07/what-todays-introduction-employment-tribunal-fees-really-means), are worrying. Backwards steps such as these, together with the long-term decline of trades unions as a means of workers standing up for their rights, contribute to bad working conditions and mean Britain's workers are some of the unhappiest in Europe.
