More than one in 10 UK employees work over 50 hours a week – yet Britons still report some of the highest levels of job satisfaction globally, according to a new international study.
The research, by Australian insurance comparison site iSelect, places the UK seventh in a global ranking of job satisfaction across developed economies. While Turkey (25%) and Australia (12.5%) top the chart for long working weeks, the UK follows close behind with 10.8% of workers logging 50 hours or more. That’s well above most European counterparts, including Germany (3.9%) and the Netherlands (0.3%).
But UK employees reported strong levels of trust in their employer (88%) and high confidence in leadership (81%), contributing to a job satisfaction index of 78.14 out of 100. The findings suggest that working long hours is not necessarily a barrier to feeling fulfilled at work, provided other conditions are met.
A Complex Picture of Workplace Wellbeing
The study evaluated job satisfaction using a range of economic and workplace metrics, drawing on data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), recruitment and HR services firm Randstad and cost-of-living database Numbeo. They included:
- Job security
- Excessive working hours
- Alignment of employee and employer values
- Trust in leadership
- Opportunities for future skills development
- Local purchasing power
- Wage disparity
Each factor was given equal weighting, and countries were scored out of 100. Luxembourg topped the table with a perfect score, followed by Norway, Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands. Australia came sixth, just ahead of the UK.
What sets the UK apart is not its working hours – among the longest in Europe – but the high trust employees place in their employers, combined with strong perceptions of leadership and reasonable local purchasing power (index score 119.9). These factors appear to offset some of the wellbeing risks typically associated with long hours.
Trust and Skills Are Key
The figures draw on Randstad’s 2025 Workmonitor report, which found that trust and values alignment significantly influence employees’ sense of satisfaction. In the UK, nearly nine in 10 employees say they feel trusted by their employer, while 56% believe their workplace supports their future skills development.
“Having a healthy work-life balance and experiencing job satisfaction are crucial for overall wellbeing,” said Andres Gutierrez, general manager of Health at iSelect. “Just as you invest in your career, it’s equally important to invest in your health. Finding the right health insurance plan for you can provide peace of mind and support your physical and mental wellbeing, allowing [you] to better manage stress and maintain that crucial work-life balance.”
A Warning on Burnout
The results offer a nuanced picture for employers, say workplace experts. While high job satisfaction is encouraging, the UK’s relatively high proportion of long-hours workers points to persistent risks of burnout, stress-related illness and absenteeism, all of which are key concerns in the workplace wellbeing field.
The OECD has long warned that excessive hours – defined as more than 50 per week – are associated with reduced life satisfaction, poor health outcomes and strained personal relationships. Yet in the UK, many sectors continue to rely on an unpaid overtime culture, often driven by management expectations or job insecurity.
The contrast with countries like the Netherlands or Switzerland, where under 1% of the workforce reports working over 50 hours per week, highlights the need for employers to critically examine not just satisfaction scores, but the conditions under which that satisfaction exists.
What Employers Should Watch
The findings show that job satisfaction is shaped by more than just pay or hours worked. The top-performing countries all excelled in key areas such as:
- Transparent, trusted leadership
- Clearly communicated organisational values
- Investment in employee development
- Economic conditions that allow wages to stretch further
For employers in the UK, this suggests a strategic approach to wellbeing must go beyond workload management. Building trust, investing in skills and ensuring employees feel secure in their roles are equally important, especially for organisations where long hours remain the norm.