Westcountry

Workers and bosses in the South West enjoy the highest levels of wellbeing at work in the UK, according to an independent study.

Workplace wellbeing is associated with good staff morale which in turn leads to high levels of productivity and low absenteeism.

Poor ratings, by contrast, tend to be associated with poor staff morale and motivation, inefficient use of manpower, below average productivity and high absenteeism.

To conduct the research, psychologist Dr David Lewis and mathematician Phillip Obayda developed a mathematical formula involving eight key factors.

These included variables such as the work environment, workload and deadlines, whether the bosses recognised and rewarded special effort by their staff and the amount of control employees were able to exercise over their working day.

The Wellbeing@Work survey was carried out by an independent market research consultancy and featured 1,000 telephone interviews.

Employees in the Westcountry achieved a score of 6 and employers 7 on a nine point rating scale, suggesting a very satisfactory level of wellbeing.

This is followed by London and the South East, with a score of 5 for employees and employers.

"Wellbeing encompasses a wide range of psychological concepts," explained Dr Lewis, a stress specialist and author of the best selling book One-Minute Stress Management.

"Wellbeing at work looks at how happy you are in your work, how motivated and enthused by what you do, how pleasurable you find your surroundings and how well you get on with your co-workers or, in the case of employers, your staff," said Dr Lewis.

The study, which involved more than a thousand workers and employees, divided the country into five regions - North, South East, South West, East and Midlands.

Workers and bosses were asked to rate eight simple statements on a scale of 1 to 4, where 1 meant they did not agree with it at all and 4 that it accurately reflected their current position.

These ratings were then used in the well-being formula created by Phillip Obayda.

"For the first time ever, people can make use of a formula to measure and compare their levels of wellbeing at work and more importantly, identify areas for improvements," added Dr Lewis.

Malcolm Brinkworth, an award-winning film-maker and Managing Director of Touch Productions which is located in South West agrees with the survey findings. "We moved to Dorset from London eight years ago" he said.

"People here generally have a more balanced lifestyle which tends to have a positive impact on their productivity. In the creative sector, a company is only as good as its people, and I'm convinced that my employees' wellbeing at work has certainly helped my company to expand. In fact, we opened a second office in Bath earlier this year."

Juliet Williams, chairman of the South West of England Regional Development Agency, welcomed the study.

She said: "A healthy, growing business will largely depend on a high level of workplace wellbeing for both bosses and staff. The survey shows that the South West offers a good working environment for employers and employees alike. Businesses thrive in the right environment; we knew we had it here but now we can prove it."