Luxembourgers might be better paid than their neighbours, but it doesn’t meant they’re better off, according to findings from the European Survey on Working Conditions (ESWC), conducted over 2015, which found that Luxembourg residents reported virtually the lowest levels of welfare at work within the Europe. 

According to the survey, only Albania scored worse on the survey that examined reported levels of wellbeing, participation, moral harassment, clarity of the role expected, job security, job satisfaction, stress and the prospect of burnout. 

The survey found that managers and directors, personal services workers, and unqualified workers exhibit the highest levels of wellbeing, compared to their peers. Employees on short contracts and employees in small organisations also reported higher level of wellbeing. 

“Wellbeing is therefore clearly linked to working conditions,” concluded the report, noting that higher participation levels, role-clarity, and the more stable and secure their employment, the happier they were likely to be. 

However, almost the same number of men and women living in Luxembourg were found to be happy at work, at 63.7% and 63.1% respectively, in stark contrast to the findings across Europe where men’s working wellbeing outstripped women’s by 69.4% to 63.1%.

Luxembourgers bucked the trends a little when it came to age as well, with the lowest level of wellbeing reported among young workers (aged 16 to 24) compared to the European average which found the lowest levels of wellbeing among 35 to 44-year-olds. Those at the end of their working lives (55+) appear to be the happiest, with the proportion among that group surging across Europe. 

Within Luxembourg, border workers from France reported the highest levels of wellbeing, while those from Belgium reported the lowest. 

How much time you put in has an impact too, with workers on 35-hour weeks reporting showing higher levels of wellbeing than those with longer hours with the number of dissatisfied rising in proportion to the number of hours worked. 

Welfare levels within Luxembourg drop according to the numbers of hours worked in a week, with more people working 35-hour weeks happier than their counterparts who are putting in more hours. 

Who people work for makes a difference too, with employees of private companies scoring better than public employees, and those in smaller companies doing better than those with more than four though the welfare level evens out after that.