Employee wellbeing isn’t just about direct stressors at work. To get a full picture we have to examine factors around work intensity, and financial security, as well as more indirect factors such as political stability and health. We’ve researched 16 European countries and provided data points across a variety of factors that contribute to employee wellbeing for World Wellbeing Week (commencing 27th June).
Check out the ranked data below as well as breakdowns for each country:
| Financial | Work intensity | Emotional/health | Total score | |||||||||
| Ranking (worst to best) | Country | Average salary | Disposable income | Gross household saving rate | Hours worked average | Flexible working | Alcohol/tobacco spend | Stress | Absence rate due to sickness | Environment (sustainability innovation) | Political stability | |
| 1 | Poland | 14 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 12.00 | 129 |
| 2 | Czechia | 15 | 13 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 7.00 | 115 |
| 3 | Spain | 12 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 15.00 | 106 |
| 4 | Portugal | 16 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 4.00 | 105 |
| 5 | UK | 8 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 13.00 | 94 |
| 6 | Italy | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 14.00 | 91 |
| 7 | Germany | 7 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 5 | 10.00 | 86 |
| 8 | Belgium | 6 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 11.00 | 84 |
| 9 | Austria | 11 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 79 |
| 10 | France | 10 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 16.00 | 77 |
| 11 | Norway | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 2.00 | 75 |
| 12 | Iceland | 1 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 74 |
| 13 | Sweden | 9 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 72 |
| 14 | Switzerland | 2 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 68 |
| 15 | Netherlands | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 56 |
| 16 | Denmark | 4 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 54 |
Scores
16: worst in Europe
13-15: extremely poor
10-12: poor
7-9: moderate
4-6: good
2-3: extremely good
1: the best in Europe
1. Poland
Ranks the worst in Europe on ⅔ of financial security factors
Ranks extremely poorly on average salary, average amount of hours worked, stress levels, sickness absence rate, and the environment
Ranks poor on political stability
Ranks the best in Europe on alcohol and tobacco spend (low spend)
2. Czechia
Ranks extremely poorly on average salary, disposable income, flexible working, stress and absence rate due to sickness
Ranks poorly on average hours worked and the environment
Ranks moderately on gross household saving rate, alcohol and tobacco spend and political stability
3. Spain
Ranks extremely poorly on disposable income and gross household saving rate, as well as political stability
Ranks poorly on average salary, flexible working, stress levels, and sickness absence rate
Ranks moderately on average hours worked and the environment
4. Portugal
Ranks worst in Europe on average salary and the environment
Ranks extremely poorly for disposable income and gross household saving rate
Ranks poorly for average hours worked, flexible working and stress levels
Ranks moderately for sickness absence
Ranks good for political stability and extremely good for alcohol and tobacco spend
5. UK
Ranks worst in Europe for flexible working
Ranks extremely poorly for gross household saving rate, environment, and political stability
Ranks poorly for disposable income and alcohol/tobacco spend
Ranks moderately for average salary
Ranks good for stress levels
Ranks extremely good for sickness absence rate
Ranks best in Europe for average hours worked
6. Italy
Ranks extremely poorly for average salary and political stability
Ranks poorly for disposable income, gross household saving rate and flexible working
Ranks moderately for average hours worked, stress, sickness absence rate
Ranks good for environment and alcohol/tobacco spend
7. Germany
Ranks worst in Europe for absence rate due to sickness
Ranks poorly for average hours worked, stress and political stability
Ranks moderately for average salary, disposable income, alcohol and tobacco spend, flexible working
Ranks good for the environment
Ranks extremely good for gross household saving rate
8. Belgium
Ranks poorly for alcohol/tobacco spend, political stability and stress
Ranks moderately for disposable income, gross household saving rate
Ranks good for average salary, flexible working and the environment
Ranks extremely good for average hours worked
9. Austria
Ranks extremely poorly for stress
Ranks poorly for average salary, sickness absence rate and the environment
Ranks moderately for gross household saving rate, average hours worked and political stability
Ranks good for flexible working and alcohol and tobacco spend
Ranks best in Europe for disposable income
10. France
Ranks worst in Europe for political stability
Ranks poorly for average salary and disposable income
Ranks moderately for flexible working, the environment and alcohol and tobacco spend
Ranks good for gross householdsaving rate, average hours worked, stress and work related absence
11. Norway
Ranks extremely poorly for flexible working, alcohol/tobacco spend and sickness absence rate
Ranks moderately for the environment
Ranks good for average salary, gross household saving rate, average hours worked
Ranks extremely good for disposable income,stress, and political stability
12. Iceland
Ranks worst in Europe for average working hours and alcohol/tobacco spend
Ranks extremely poor for absence rate
Ranks poor for gross household saving rate
Ranks moderate for absence rate due to sickness
Ranks extremely good for disposable income, flexible working, stress
Ranks best in Europe for political stability
13. Sweden
Ranks extremely poor for average hours worked and alcohol/tobacco spend
Ranks poor for environment
Ranks moderate for average salary
Ranks good for disposable income, gross household saving rate, stress, sickness absence rate and political stability
Ranks best in Europe for flexible working
14. Switzerland
Ranks extremely poor for average hours worked, flexible working, stress
Ranks poor for alcohol/tobacco spend
Ranks good for disposable income
Ranks extremely good for average salary, environment and political stability
Ranks best in Europe for gross household saving rate and absence rate due to sickness
15. Netherlands
Ranks poor for stress
Ranks moderate for disposable income, sickness absence rate, and political stability
Ranks good for flexible working and alcohol and tobacco spend
Ranks extremely good for average salary, gross household saving rate, average hours worked, and the environment
16. Denmark
Ranks extremely poor for alcohol and tobacco spend
Ranks poor for gross household saving rate
Ranks good for average salary, disposable income, average hours worked, political stability
Ranks extremely good for flexible working and absence rate
Ranks best in Europe for stress levels
For further details, see the unranked data below:
| Country | Average salary | Basic hours worked | Alcohol, tobacco spend per capita (dollars) | Work-related stress/burnout | Sickness absence rate | Percentage of people usually working remote | Disposable income | Innovation score in sustainability | Gross household saving rate | Political stability index |
| United Kingdom | 47,147 | 36.5 | 846.13 | 46% | 4.6 | 4.70% | 24,508 | 77.5 | 7% | 0.47 |
| Austria | 43,030 | 38.7 | 746.87 | 53% | 12.7 | 18.10% | 37,001 | 104.5 | 13% | 0.85 |
| Belgium | 54,327 | 38.3 | 853.68 | 50% | 12.9 | 17.20% | 26,401 | 118.5 | 12% | 0.59 |
| France | 45,581 | 38.5 | 765.73 | 45% | 8.9 | 15.70% | 25,991 | 114.9 | 14% | 0.31 |
| Germany | 53,745 | 39.5 | 747.98 | 51% | 19.9 | 14.80% | 29,539 | 118.6 | 18% | 0.67 |
| Netherlands | 58,828 | 38.1 | 696.56 | 50% | 12 | 17.80% | 26,838 | 124.8 | 17% | 0.85 |
| Switzerland | 64,824 | 42.9 | 833.01 | 55% | 2.4 | 4.90% | 29,977 | 125.3 | 21% | 1.19 |
| Czechia | 29,885 | 39.3 | 809.03 | 59% | 16.3 | 7.20% | 19,847 | 95.9 | 13% | 0.92 |
| Poland | 32,527 | 40.7 | 480.95 | 66% | 14.3 | 8.90% | 17,430 | 62.2 | 4% | 0.57 |
| Italy | 37,769 | 39.2 | 531.77 | 49% | 11.7 (avg.) | 12.20% | 22,142 | 124.6 | 10% | 0.44 |
| Portugal | 28,410 | 39.3 | 513.01 | 50% | 11.7 (avg.) | 13.90% | 18,567 | 38.9 | 7% | 1.03 |
| Spain | 37,922 | 38.9 | 496.95 | 51% | 12.3 | 10.90% | 19,183 | 114.3 | 6% | 0.4 |
| Denmark | 58,430 | 38.4 | 936.18 | 27% | 8.5 | 27% | 29,606 | 130.7 | 8.17% | 0.94 |
| Iceland | 67,458 | 43.5 | 1574.1 | 28.6 (avg. of nordic countries) | 12.2 | 29.30% | 32,206 (average of nordics) | 68.2 | 11.8% (avg. nordics) | 1.39 |
| Norway | 55,780 | 38.7 | 1157.21 | 29.00% | 16.8 | 6.80% | 35,725 | 112.7 | 15.52% | 1.25 |
| Sweden | 47,020 | 40.4 | 877.82 | 30% | 10.6 | 37% | 31,287 | 90.8 | 13.26% | 1.02 |
If you’re interested in supporting your team to improve their mental health in the workplace, why not check out our free Workplace Wellbeing Downloads available here.
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