British workers are some of the ‘saddest and most stressed in Europe’

Almost half of all British workers feel stress on a daily basis.

The "State of the Global Workplace" report by Gallup found that 26% of the British workforce said they experience sadness daily, and 17% experienced loneliness.

The report also found that only 10% of British workers felt engaged with their work in 2024, which was a drop from 20% in 2009. It places the UK as the 30th most disengaged country in Europe.

One of the main reasons linked to this drop-off are stressed-out managers, with the groups experiencing the highest fall-offs in engagement being under-35s and female managers.

According to the report, 41% of British workers felt stressed on a daily basis in 2024.

The results of this mean that the UK workforce considers itself to be more stressed than the Ukrainian workforce, where only 28% of workers felt stressed in 2024.

It is not just the UK that feels this way. According to Gallup, the global percentage of engaged employees fell from 23% to 21% in 2024.

In the past 12 years engagement has only fallen twice - 2020 and 2024.

Gallup estimated that this decline cost the world economy $438 billion in lost productivity.

The report also delved into the world of remote working following the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Gallup, those working in remote-capable jobs experience a huge amount of flexibility, with 55% working hybrid, 26% solely remote and 19% solely on-site.