The BusinessFinanced.co.uk Employee Wellbeing League Table is a report that provides a fascinating glimpse into how employee wellbeing varies across the nation.
Top-Ranked Locations: Cheltenham leads the league table, closely followed by the Shetland Islands, Stirling, Milton Keynes, and Dumfries & Galloway. The rankings show a broad geographic spread across the nation, illustrating that no clear north-south divide exists when it comes to employee wellbeing.
Scottish Success: More than a third of the top 15 locations are in Scotland, with three in the top five, despite Scotland only representing 8.2% of the UK population.
Top-Performing Counties: Essex stands out at a county level, boasting two towns in the top 10.
By analysing some key factors that shape workplace experiences, our report offers a perspective on what makes different towns and cities thrive.
Whether you’re an employer, policymaker, or simply curious about your region’s standing, this report uncovers insights to help foster healthier, more fulfilling workplaces.
Using criteria such as average salary, weekly hours worked, commute time, happiness score, and life satisfaction score, this report reveals how different towns and cities prioritise the wellbeing of their workforce.
Explore the ranking of 86 towns and cities to see how your area measures up and learn how each is advancing employee wellbeing.
What is employee wellbeing?
Employee wellbeing refers to the holistic health and happiness of individuals in their workplace, encompassing both physical and mental aspects.
It includes factors like work-life balance, job satisfaction, stress management, and access to supportive resources. Financial stability, positive workplace relationships, and opportunities for growth also play a crucial role.
Organisations prioritise employee wellbeing to ensure a motivated, engaged, and productive workforce. This not only benefits employees by enhancing their quality of life but also improves organisational success, reducing absenteeism and turnover while boosting morale and fostering a more collaborative and innovative work environment.
While employee wellbeing is a tricky thing to measure and quantify, we have used a number of metrics which can paint a picture of estimated wellbeing in different geographic areas.
Notable results
- We found a very broad geographic spread among the top spots, with no apparent UK north-south divide or overall geographic bias.
- Even 1st and 2nd place (Cheltenham and the Shetland Islands respectively) are around 600 miles apart, as the crow flies.
- More than a third of the 15 highest-scoring places were in Scotland, with three Scottish locations appearing in the top five, despite Scotland only making up 8.2% of the UK population.
- At a county level, the location slightly leading the pack was Essex, holding 2 of the top 10 spots.
Infographic – The top 10
The rankings in full
- Cheltenham
- Shetland Islands
- Stirling
- Milton Keynes
- Dumfries & Galloway
- Oxford
- Chelmsford
- Falkirk
- Colchester
- Bedford
- Bournemouth
- Aberdeen
- Plymouth
- Great Yarmouth
- Edinburgh
- Tunbridge Wells
- Braintree
- Wrexham
- Lancaster
- Ipswich
- Swansea
- Chester
- Dover
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Warrington
- Isle of Wight
- Brighton and Hove
- Bath and North East Somerset
- York
- Portsmouth
- Swindon
- Coventry
- Exeter
- Dudley
- Preston
- Reading
- Southend-on-Sea
- Wigan
- North Tyneside
- King’s Lynn
- Canterbury
- Dundee
- Doncaster
- Bridgend
- Ashford
- Bristol
- Cardiff
- Gloucester
- Liverpool
- Leeds
- Hartlepool
- Glasgow
- Stafford
- Darlington
- Blackpool
- Stevenage
- Luton
- Newport
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Sunderland
- Sheffield
- Kingston upon Hull
- Southampton
- Peterborough
- Slough
- Cambridge
- Crawley
- Norwich
- Barnsley
- Gateshead
- Derby
- Wakefield
- Bradford
- Worthing
- Manchester
- Medway
- Wolverhampton
- Mansfield
- Middlesbrough
- Eastbourne
- Lincoln
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Leicester
- Hastings
- Birmingham
- Nottingham
Results in full – Employee wellbeing league table data
Methodology
To work out our ranking of the best UK towns and cities for employee wellbeing, we based our calculations on the following metrics for each location:
- Median salary
- Average hours worked per week
- Average commute to work, in minutes
- Average happiness score (self-rated, out of 10)
- Average life satisfaction score (self-rated, out of 10)
We used ONS data, and only included a location in the league table if data for all metrics was available – which resulted in 86 towns and cities being included.
For each of the 5 metrics, a score was assigned to each location. These scores were added up, and each location was given a final score based on the total score of its 5 individual scores.
Data sources
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/placeofresidencebylocalauthorityashetable8
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/adhocs/010202averagehometoworktraveltimeage16yearsandoverukoctobertodecember2018
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/measuringnationalwellbeing/april2022tomarch2023
Employee wellbeing league table – We rank 86 UK towns and cities
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