How can you ensure the well-being of over 500,000 people in a fast-paced economy for up to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week? According to a STATEC report, only one out of every seven workers in Luxembourg is dissatisfied with their job. This percentage is “very low,” according to the institute’s ‘PIBien-Être’ (“GDP-Wellbeing”) report. With a score of 7.7 out of ten, the Grand Duchy ranks among the best in Europe in terms of worker satisfaction.
But what does cause Luxembourg’s residents to be dissatisfied with their employment situation? It all depends on the characteristics of the job, age, and nationality, according to STATEC.
Overtime, shift work, and age are – in that order – the three factors that are most likely to adversely affect job satisfaction. “Employees who work overtime are the most dissatisfied, at 19%,” STATEC explains. Those who do not work more hours than their contract requires are generally happier.
Men tend to be slightly less satisfied with their jobs than women. Similarly, young people (15-34) are not as content as older workers.
Luxembourg nationals are more likely to be happy with their jobs than employees of other nationalities. This is especially true for civil servants, who are more satisfied than private sector employees. Obviously, income is a factor: the highest-paid employees are less likely to complain about their working conditions.
STATEC concludes that there is “no difference in dissatisfaction based on the type of contract (fixed-term or open-ended), the degree of self-defined work (full-time versus part-time), and marital status (living with spouse or not)”. Although mentioned above, the gender gap is considered insignificant. So are education levels and travel time to work.
On the other hand, the report states that ‘those who cannot work from home and those who work 32 hours or more per week are more frequently dissatisfied’. Employees who are able to work from home are less likely to be dissatisfied.
You can download the full Statec report here.
