London Last For Workplace Satisfaction and Pay

New research has revealed that London has ranked last when employees from four key cities (New York, London, Hong Kong and Sydney) were asked about their working lives.

Leeson Medhurst, Head of Workplace Strategy
Published: 04 Oct 2024
Last updated: 04 Oct 2024
Read time: 2 mins
Published: 04 Oct 2024
Last updated: 04 Oct 2024
Read time: 2 mins
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London trails behind in last place

New research has revealed that London has ranked last when employees from four key cities (New York, London, Hong Kong and Sydney) were asked about their working lives. Hong Kong and New York emerged most favourably, while Sydney trailed in third, with London at the bottom of the pack when it came to salary, workplace satisfaction, and productivity.

The research and gap in results, particularly for the UK, suggests employers need to re-evaluate the holistic working experience in order to attract top-tier global talent. Londoners rated their compensation worst, with just 57% saying they’re paid fairly, compared with 81% of Hong Kong workers, followed by 80% of New Yorkers and 62% of those working in Sydney.

Only 54% of Londoners feel 'empowered' to choose how they work

A similar trend emerged when it came to satisfaction with physical workplace environments too; just 54% of London-based workers said their office empowers them to choose how they work, falling behind Sydney, where the figure is 63% and far behind New York and Hong Kong, where it’s more than 75%. In fact, more than 1 in 5 (21%) Londoners said that their workplace didn’t support them to choose how they work, while 18% said their workplace was just uninspiring.

The effect of this disparity is illustrated by how productive people feel in the office, and it’s London that comes in last place again, with just 55% agreeing that they’re more productive in the workplace, followed by Sydney on 58%. Here it’s the Americans who come out on top with 76%, then Hong Kong on 74%.

Advice for employers

Based on the data, it’s time for London- and Sydney-based employers to up their game. In response to the research, Peldon Rose CEO Jitesh Patel said: “Our research shows that, both in the UK and down under, employers can do more for their people’s entire working experience, and that improving the workplace is a good place to start. Employers need to view the workplace as a crucial part of their larger value proposition, which includes pay – employees that feel undervalued financially will only have this reinforced by an underwhelming workplace.

“It’s no coincidence that the workplaces that don’t offer choice to users are less productive and less popular. The rise of hybrid and flexible working has made people more aware of how they work best, and businesses that don’t provide for this natural variability in the physical workspace are missing out.”

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Source

This research was conducted by Censuswide with 4008 office-based employees (full time or part time), who work in London, New York, Hong Kong, Sydney (18+) between 23.11.2023 and 06.12.2023. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles and are members of The British Polling Council.

Head of Workplace Strategy
Leeson Medhurst

"There is no such thing as a wrong answer."

Leeson heads up our Workplace Strategy team, whose work seeks to understand the influence of environments on human behaviour. During his career, he has supported businesses to deliver effective workplaces by assessing activities and occupancy, balancing functionality with need. This allows him to unlock opportunities in property portfolios and employment productivity through effective workplace consultancy and change management strategy. Leeson enjoys riding bicycles, spending time with family and training Chester, his working cocker spaniel.

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