Whatever happened to ‘good’work?

Whatever happened to ‘good’ work?

Since 2019, growing numbers of employees see their relationship with their organisations as “transactional”, says the new CIPD Good Work Index. People are less enthusiastic, less likely to see their job as being useful. Instead they are just “doing it for the money”.

43% said their work was “transactional”, compared with 36% in 2019; 51% were willing to put extra time and effort into their role (down from 57%); 49% were “enthusiastic” about their work (down from 54%). 33% felt bored at work, 26% “sometimes” felt miserable, 21% “sometimes” felt lonely.

Poor work, poor health

25% of the employees surveyed by the CIPD believed that their work had led to poor mental health (a figure that rises to 35% among public sector workers).

Improving job quality needs to be an urgent priority, says the CIPD, halting what has become a “slow slide into mediocrity”. “Work can and should be good for us,” said CIPD research associate Jake Young, “It’s vital that the government and employers renew their commitment to good work as it’s fundamental to supporting individual wellbeing, fair society, productive organisations and a strong economy.”

Wellbeing at heart

EAPA UK Chair, Karl Bennett said: “Wellbeing should be at the heart of our ideas of good work. So when it comes to the design and re-design of job roles and looking at relationships between staff and their organisation, there needs to be attention to the impact on wellbeing, the part it plays in making people feel their employer is interested in them on a personal level.

“A real commitment to wellbeing — ensuring there is practical advice and support through a key service like an EAP — is an important way of encouraging feelings of belonging, of there being a community at work based around people and their daily ups and downs, not a machine.”