The happiest place to live and work in the UK has been revealed, and it turns out the capital doesn’t even feature in the top three.
Cambridge was found to have the country’s happiest employees in a recent study, earning a winning score of 78.2% job satisfaction and beating larger cities to first place.
Brighton came in second with a 77.6% satisfaction rating, while Bristol and Newcastle both scored 77.4% and came out joint third.
Despite its standing as the epicentre of the British economy, London was ranked fifth by workers, gaining points for the number of opportunities available but losing out based on pay in relation to the cost of living.
The research was undertaken by job website Glassdoor’s Economic Research team, which analysed over 100,000 anonymous employer reviews from 20 cities.
When staff leave a review for a company they’ve worked for, they’re asked for feedback on seven different factors; overall job satisfaction, career opportunities, culture and values, positive business outlook, compensation and benefits, senior leadership, and work-life balance.
The UK’s happiest places to work
These are Glassdoor’s official top 10 UK cities with the highest employee satisfaction, ranked out of five:
- Cambridge – 3.91
- Brighton – 3.88
- Bristol – 3.87
- Newcastle – 3.87
- London – 3.85
- Leeds – 3.84
- Nottingham – 3.81
- Manchester – 3.8
- Oxford – 3.8
- Cardiff – 3.77
While Cambridge led the pack in a number of these areas, Brighton scored top marks for compensation, senior leadership and work-life balance.
Newcastle’s employees rated their companies’ diversity and inclusion policies best; the North East city was given 4.1 out of five compared to a nationwide average of 3.89.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, Sheffield’s scores were below average in every factor assessed – and Liverpool didn’t fare much better either.
Commenting on the research, Lauren Thomas, UK economist at Glassdoor said: ‘London is often romanticised as the city to reach the peak of your career and earning capacity, but Glassdoor’s latest analysis shows that you can find a job with a great salary and work-life balance outside of the M25. Smaller cities are winning the hearts of workers.
‘With its position as the UK’s sixth best city for work-life balance, London is living up to its reputation as a pressure cooker.
‘The capital’s amazing career opportunities and top pay are commonly cited to justify the stress, however, it seems that job seekers don’t always agree; London placed sixth for compensation and benefits – despite the highest salaries in the country.
‘While this doesn’t necessarily mean London salaries are low, it could be a strong indicator that rising rents and house prices, the cost of living crisis and inflation are making the city unaffordable.’
According to Rightmove, the average house price in Cambridge is £551,732, almost £200,000 less than the figure for London.
Staff in the capital may make 27% more than the UK median, but this is quickly eaten up as households have to spend 58% more than those in other urban locales for a basic standard of living.
The stats put paid to the myth that London’s streets are paved with gold, that’s for sure.
The question is, where would your yellow brick road to the perfect job lead?
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