Press Release

Employees are happiest in small businesses

2 September 2008

Employees in small businesses are the most satisfied at work, new statistics have revealed.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has backed a report on satisfaction levels in the UK workplace by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) this week.

While the TUC highlighted the low morale amongst one in four of the UK’s workforce, the poll run by YouGov for the TUC also revealed the high levels of satisfaction amongst employees of small businesses.

The ‘What Workers Want’ survey of 2,500 employees included over 600 who work in the UK’s smallest businesses.  

As well as the highest job satisfaction rate (21% strongly agreeing and 41% tending to agree), small business employees were also the most committed (64% ) and loyal (58%) to their organisations.

Employees in small firms also felt most engaged by their employer and reported the most freedom to choose their working patterns. There were also far fewer reports of bullying in small businesses; lower stress levels and less complaints about long working hours.

John Wright, FSB National Chairman, said: “We are concerned that 6 million people are unhappy in work, but the TUC figures suggest that 18 million are happy, the vast majority of which appear to be in small firms. In terms of the way they treat their staff, small businesses consistently out perform their bigger competitors. The figures really do speak for themselves, but they aren’t surprising.

Mr Wright continued, “Small business owners know their greatest asset is their staff and they are far more likely to treat them as individuals and recognise their needs. By having a committed and loyal work force that has a say in how the organisation is run, the smallest business has a bigger advantage.

Mr Wright concluded, “We are really pleased to see these figures which bust many of the myths around small business employment. We thank the TUC for their enlightening study which comes ahead of their annual conference next week in Brighton.”