According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023 report, low employee engagement is hurting the global GDP to the tune of $8.8 trillion dollars. The report says it best: “If you’re not thriving at work, you’re unlikely to be thriving at life.”

Globally, 6 in 10 workers say they are actively disengaged, per Gallup. But there's a bright spot: scores around happiness at work remain relatively high among small business employees, BambooHR notes 11 points higher on the Employee Happiness Index compared with the average among all companies.

According to Axios, small business creation jumped during the pandemic and small business owners across the country are feeling optimistic about their companies' health.

According to the study and perhaps most surprisingly, the smaller the company or the newer the employee, the happier they are. While companies with employees who have less than three years of tenure tend to be happier on average, the same group is also experiencing a three year low in happiness.

The three factors that are driving employee happiness numbers up at small companies, were highlighted by Axios:

1. Transparency breeds trust and happiness — especially in remote or hybrid workplaces and especially when bosses need to deliver hard news, like layoffs, BambooHR notes. It's naturally easier to communicate frequently at a smaller firm.

2. Friendship at work matters to many people. Per BambooHR, 93% of new hires at companies of all sizes say they want to shadow a colleague, and 87% say they hope to make a friend at work. Forging these bonds can also be easier in a smaller group.

3. Engagement with the company's mission also drives worker satisfaction. Those who work for smaller companies — like startups or close-knit, family-run operations — are likely to feel a stronger connection to that mission.

It is possible that in previous years, new employees were usually happier because they were in the “honeymoon phase” of a new job. Still, with recent layoffs, strikes, and inflation, it’s leveled the playing field. In another 2023 BambooHR study, nearly half of employees (45%) said they put up with little frustrations at their job because they’re unable to quit, with income and job security being the top two reasons for staying.

What industries have the happiest employees?

1 - Construction

2 - Travel & Hospitality

3 - Technology

4 - Nonprofit

5 - Finance

6 - Healthcare

7 - Education

8 - Restaurant, Food, & Beverages

Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes