Why small businesses have the happiest employees

It's all about flexibility

A barista at a coffee shop.
(Image credit: Jacob Lund / Alamy Stock Photo)

Making employees feel happy and healthy at work is the holy grail for many businesses. If you can achieve it, the benefits are great: It can help a company attract the best job candidates, hold on to the staff it already has, and boost productivity. But keeping employee engagement up — and happiness high — isn't always easy. Staffers have a tendency to get into a work slump, mindlessly going through the motions without reaping much reward or satisfaction. Gallup research suggests that, overall, just 33 percent of U.S. employees consider themselves fully engaged at work, while 16 percent are actively disengaged, and 51 percent are just showing up.

But there is an exception: When it comes to employee engagement, it seems small businesses are kicking butt. According to the same Gallup research, the largest U.S. companies have the lowest levels of engagement, while businesses with fewer than 25 employees have the highest. And in one recent report, 75 percent of small business workers surveyed said they were "very" or "extremely" satisfied in their role with a small employer.

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Laura Oliver

Laura Oliver is a freelance journalist based in Brighton, U.K. She has written for a range of titles including The Guardian, NPR, and Atlas Obscura. She was previously Head of Social and Communities at The Guardian.