Happiness at Work Andrew Oswald University of Warwick, UK

1. Happiness at Work Andrew Oswald University of Warwick, UK With many thanks to Professor Andrew E. Clark (Paris) for data and helpful advice.

2. Job satisfaction and work happiness have been studied in two ways.

3. Method 1 By asking people what they want in a job.

4. Method 2 By studying the statistical determinants of job satisfaction.

5. What do employees say they want in a job?

6. People’s top two priorities:

7. People’s top two priorities: • “Job security”

8. People’s top two priorities: • “Job security” • “Work that is interesting”

9. The next four priorities:

10. The next four priorities: • “A job that allows me to work independently”

11. The next four priorities: • “A job that allows me to work independently” • “Opportunities for advancement”

12. The next four priorities: • “A job that allows me to work independently” • “Opportunities for advancement” • “A job useful for society”

13. The next four priorities: • “A job that allows me to work independently” • “Opportunities for advancement” • “A job useful for society” • “High income”

14. We have data on all this, from the International Social Survey Programme, for 15 countries.

17. Now to the literature on the determinants of job satisfaction.

18. Regression equations Job satisfaction = f(Age, gender, pay, education level, workplace characteristics, job security, region, year…)

19. A typical question • “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your job?” • Answers from 1, 2, ... 7 • 7 = “Completely satisfied” • 1 = “Completely dissatisfied”

20. Some cheery news:

21. European levels of job satisfaction are high. ~ 5.4 out of seven

22. In our work, we have new data on random samples from 35 countries.

23. Findings on job satisfaction

24. Findings on job satisfaction Pay Large workplace Female Job security Education Autonomy

25. Findings on job satisfaction Pay positive Large workplace Female Job security Education Autonomy

26. Findings on job satisfaction Pay positive Large workplace negative Female Job security Education Autonomy

27. Findings on job satisfaction Pay positive Large workplace negative Female positive Job security Education Autonomy

28. Findings on job satisfaction Pay positive Large workplace negative Female positive Job security positive Education Autonomy

29. Findings on job satisfaction Pay positive Large workplace negative Female positive Job security positive Education zero Autonomy

30. Findings on job satisfaction Pay positive Large workplace negative Female positive Job security positive Education zero Autonomy positive

31. On pay

32. On pay • There is a lot of research that shows it is relative pay (particularly the ordinal rank of pay) that matters.

33. On autonomy

34. On autonomy • Who controls the pace of work is important. It is OK if customers and colleagues do. Not when bosses or machines do.

35. On autonomy • Who controls the pace of work is important. It is OK if customers and colleagues do. Not when bosses or machines do. • Some evidence that it pays to give employees small freedoms (like the ability to move their desk slightly).

36. There is also an intriguing life-cycle pattern

37. Watch out for mid-life, and don’t be too hard on yourself.

38. The U in job satisfaction through life

39. This mirrors a general mid-life psychological low period (or ‘crisis’) that is normal in humans.

40. The pattern of a typical person’s happiness through life

41. The probability of depression by age Males, LFS data set 2004-2006 0.02 0.015 0.01 Regression coefficient 0.005 0 -0.005 -0.01 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 Year of birth

43. Great apes also have a midlife low • We recently published this finding in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (joint with A Weiss et al.)

44. Now, promotion:

45. Do you, and should you, want to be promoted?

46. “Leadership is associated with lower levels of stress”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 2012. • Gary D. Shermanet al.

47. “Using unique samples of real leaders, including military officers and government officials ... leaders had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and lower anxiety.”

48. Yet new longitudinal research sheds doubt on the causality.

49. Extra Status and Extra Stress: Are Promotions Good for Us?by David W. Johnston, Wang-Sheng Lee(June 2012) published in: Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 2013, 66 (1), 32-54

50. Yes, promotion improves job security, pay perceptions and job satisfaction in the short term...