UK workplace happiness gap risks business performance, Indeed reveals

LONDON, ENGLAND — New research from global hiring platform Indeed reveals a stark disconnect between United Kingdom employees‘ aspirations for workplace happiness and their current reality: only 23% report thriving at work. 

The 2025 Work Well-being Report, based on a survey of 1,551 UK adults in employment, comes during International Stress Awareness Week and highlights how low well-being is undermining performance and retention.

UK work happiness expectations clash with daily stress

A large proportion of employees in the UK think that work needs more than a paycheck, with 87% agreeing that job duties can bring more fulfillment and 94% noting that it is possible to be happy at work most of the time. 

This means there is a massive disconnect between employees’ optimism and their actual workplace experiences. The consequences of this gap are severe, with work being the number one stressor for 52% of people. 

Individuals with poor work well-being are almost 9 times more likely to experience work-related stress. 

This stress affects people’s personal lives as well. 87% say that their happiness at work is linked to their moods at home, which can lead to issues like not having enough time for personal interests (46%), not getting enough sleep (45%), health problems (44%), and worse mental health (40%).

“How we feel at work impacts how we feel at home, with low work well-being often spilling into our personal lives and having detrimental effects,” the report notes. 

Employee well-being linked to targets, AI readiness and returns

Work well-being boosts business performance. Highly well employees have a 1.5 times higher chance of meeting their work targets than lowly well employees. 

Moreover, organizations that prioritize employees’ well-being are more likely to have employees adaptable to AI (76% vs 39% in organizations that make less effort) and are rated higher on creativity and productivity. 

Financial metrics reinforce the business case. According to the report, Oxford University researchers found that companies with high employee well-being scores are associated with higher valuations, returns on assets, and profits. 

A hypothetical portfolio of the top 100 publicly traded firms with high Work Well-being Scores repeatedly outperformed benchmarks such as the S&P 500, demonstrating a clear correlation between well-being and shareholder value. 

The report suggests that, “When [organizations] invest in work well-being, they unlock higher performance, stronger retention, and greater adaptability.”

Well-being data now critical to UK talent decisions

Work well-being is becoming an important factor in talent acquisition, with 95% of job applicants desiring to see well-being data to assess an employer. Most important is this information before applying for a particular job, and this stage was cited by 48% of people.

To evaluate a company’s culture of well-being, candidates refer to job sites such as Indeed and Glassdoor (48%), speak with current or former employees (42%), and visit the company website (42%). 

Retention is also affected, as high stress is the second-leading reason employees look for a new role (23%), just behind unfair pay (31%). People with low well-being are twice as likely to be actively searching for a job. 

To attract and retain talent, 69% of people think companies should provide an environment where employees can succeed, and tangible indicators include the ability to work flexibly (61%), a high employee retention rate (56%), and positive worker feedback (55%). 

“Investing in employee well-being can lead to a more stable, engaged, and positive workforce, every step along the way,” states the report.

This growing well-being deficit presents a stark imperative for UK businesses: confronting this internal crisis is no longer a matter of corporate social responsibility but a strategic necessity to secure the resilient, adaptable, and high-performing workforce required to future-proof their operations.