Good work: what do we know about the quality of UK jobs?

The quality of jobs in the UK is generally good: by many measures, it has even improved over the last five years. But there are a number of concerning trends that could lead to more mediocre jobs, and away from enriching work and employees who are happy and fulfilled.

‘Good work’ is a measure of job quality, related to employment conditions and working environments. The concept has evolved over time, but it is now firmly established as a mainstream focus for both practitioners and academic research.

Each year, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) surveys over 5,000 workers from different sectors and occupations about key aspects of their working lives. The results are used to produce a good work index, an annual benchmark of job quality in the UK.

This index illustrates that staff feel positively towards employee engagement and autonomy in the workplace. Indeed, these aspects of working life are core tenets of good work and they have stayed relatively fixed over the past five years.

But despite the consistent nature of job quality, there are several nuances in employee perceptions of good work that point to some potentially concerning patterns. In particular, staff have begun to feel that work plays less of a central role in their lives. Similarly, they are less likely to go the extra mile to help their organisation.

While these feelings aren’t necessarily a problem in themselves, combined with other findings – around conflict at work, employee wellbeing and skills development opportunities – they could lead to a less positive work experience if not adequately addressed.

This article outlines the core dimensions and current trends related to good work; why it is important; and what employers and professionals can do to provide and maintain high job quality for their staff.

How do we define good work?

The CIPD believe that good work:

Is fairly rewarded and gives people the means to make a living securely.
Allows for work–life balance.
Gives opportunities to develop and, ideally, a sense of fulfilment.
Provides a supportive environment with constructive relationships.
Gives employees the voice and choice they need to shape their working lives.
Is physically and mentally healthy for people.

Importantly, good work should be accessible for all, regardless of job type or someone’s background. It may not be realistic to make all jobs great in all ways, but employers should ensure that they are thinking creatively about how they can improve job quality with job design and human resources (HR) practices.

The seven dimensions of job quality - pay and benefits, contracts, work–life balance, job design and the nature of work, relationships at work, employee voice, health and wellbeing – cover important subjective and objective aspects of work.

Despite changes in the world of work, the fundamentals of good work remain constant. People professionals – those working in HR, learning and development, and organisational design/development roles – need to focus on getting the basics right, as well as tackling emerging issues that shift how or where work is done.

The good work index has measured these dimensions of work since 2018. Tracking good work on an annual basis allows us to explore trends and patterns over time, and creates evidence-based insights for people professionals, employers and policy-makers to improve the working lives of their people.

How has good work evolved?

Many indicators of job quality have remained relatively positive in the last five years. Notably, most employees feel engaged in their jobs, they are able to maintain a healthy work-life balance through flexible working opportunities, and they are granted a good level of autonomy over how they work.

Unfortunately, there are some trends that should be a concern for employers, people professionals and line managers. The first is work centrality, or the extent to which work plays a central role in people's lives.

In 2024, nearly half of respondents (47%) feel that a job is just for the money, compared with 36% in 2019. Over the same time period, employees’ willingness to work harder than needed to help their organisation has dropped from 57% to 51%.

These patterns are not inherently negative on their own. After all, it is important that people have a healthy balance between their work and home lives. Nonetheless, combined with other findings, lower work centrality signals a risk of staff feeling unhappy and unfulfilled in their jobs.

In particular, this sits alongside other trends, including that a large minority of employees feel that work has a negative effect on their mental health, one-quarter of staff experience conflict at work, and perceptions of skills development and career-building opportunities are mixed among employees.

It is no surprise that work is less central to individuals’ lives since the Covid-19 pandemic, when many people reconsidered their priorities in the face of unprecedented uncertainty and change.

Further, it is understandable that many employees now feel content with having a more transactional relationship with work. This means that employers, people professionals and line managers face a challenge to encourage commitment and inspire their staff to go the extra mile, while being realistic about their staff’s priorities.

How can we maintain good work?

Well-designed, enjoyable and meaningful jobs are vital for employees to feel engaged and motivated at work, more committed to their organisation and more closely aligned to the values of the organisation.

Even for those who feel that work is less central to their lives, maintaining work engagement is key. This requires positive behaviour from staff at all levels of the organisation, such as:

Ensuring that employees have the resources to do their job properly helps to prevent job demands from becoming overwhelming. This can include supervisors and colleagues providing support and feedback.
Line managers need to support their staff to ensure that they feel cared for and valued. This is likely to increase both their wellbeing and their identification with the organisation.
Clearly defining jobs gives employees an acute understanding of both their role expectations and how they will be appropriately challenged in their job.

How reliable is the evidence?

The evidence shared above comes from the CIPD’s yearly good work index reports. These use data from the UK Working Lives Survey, and annual survey exploring aspects of workers’ employment. This provides quantitative data on timely and relevant employment areas, while allowing for rigorous longitudinal analysis.

These quantitative data have been complemented by CIPD research on good work stories in 2022 and 2023 – qualitative case studies using interview data from across the UK to explore elements of job quality in greater depth.

Combined, these provide insights on good work and how it is developing over time. Nevertheless, there is more to explore in the area of good work moving forward.

For example, some work by the Youth Futures Foundation explores good work for young people, to help to discuss good work in the words of those whose access to it is often unequal.