The new year often brings a fresh wave of motivation, with many people reassessing key areas of their lives, from health to career ambitions. This is commonly associated with the so-called Blue Monday, which occurs on the third Monday of each January (this year falling on January 19th).
Despite many dismissing Blue Monday as a myth, something dreamt up by recruitment agencies, for others the apparent desire for role change by many workers is reflected in search behaviour too, with searches for “new job” typically rising by 45.2% from December to January.
To mark the so-called Blue Monday calendar trigger point, the company iSelect has created a new index exploring where in the world people are most content in their jobs. This may well influence those thinking… just thinking…about a career change.
Job satisfaction is not easy to define, and it unclear how the term was defined in the survey. In general terms, job satisfaction refers to an employee’s positive emotional state, contentment, and fulfilment from their job. This stems from how well their needs and expectations align with the work itself, environment, pay, colleagues, and management.
Based on experimental outcome, how happy are people when it comes to work–life balance, career progression, and overall job satisfaction?
The European Job Satisfaction Index
| Rank | Country | Job Security | 50+ Hours/Week (%) | Feel Trusted by Employer (%) | Confidence in Leadership (%) | Future-Skills Development (%) | Satisfaction Score (/100) |
| 1 | Luxembourg | 2.20% | 2.80% | 81.00% | 74.00% | 66.00% | 100 |
| 2 | Norway | 2.90% | 1.40% | 89.00% | 82.00% | 59.00% | 91.78 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 2.40% | 0.40% | 86.00% | 76.00% | 56.00% | 91.27 |
| 4 | Denmark | 4.50% | 1.10% | 89.00% | 83.00% | 55.00% | 87.95 |
| 5 | Netherlands | 2.60% | 0.30% | 87.00% | 81.00% | 50.00% | 85.42 |
| 6 | Australia | 3.10% | 12.50% | 84.00% | 79.00% | 57.00% | 78.47 |
| 7 | UK | 3.30% | 10.80% | 88.00% | 81.00% | 56.00% | 78.14 |
| 8 | Belgium | 2.40% | 4.30% | 84.00% | 76.00% | 52.00% | 76.33 |
| 9 | Sweden | 4.90% | 0.90% | 84.00% | 74.00% | 47.00% | 74.11 |
| 10 | Germany | 1.40% | 3.90% | 83.00% | 76.00% | 48.00% | 73.75 |
Luxembourg tops the list with a perfect Job Satisfaction Index of 100. The country stands out for its strong job security (2.2%) and high values alignment score (77.0%). Employees report a high level of trust in their employers (81.0%).
The UK is placed #7 in the world for job satisfaction. This is due to 3.3% of workers in the UK feel their job is insecure, while 10.8% work 50 or more hours per week. Furthermore, 88% say they feel trusted by their employer, and 81% have confidence in their leadership. Plus, over half, 56%, feel supported in developing their future skills.
