WWD1.2
Improved Workplace Quality
Employment
What we do
Job Satisfaction
Improved Workplace Quality
Job quality refers to the characteristics of work that are commonly associated with fulfilling or desirable work experiences. Given that people spend at least a third of their adult lives at work, organizational psychologists and occupational health researchers have shed more light on how work influences an individual’s well-being, both positively and negatively.
Key Value
A monetised social value of £4300
This is the monetised value of the average value for one person across all dimensions of quality of a workplace over a year.
Where does this headline value come from?
According to the recent work by Fleche and Ward (2018) the dimensions of the workplace quality that significantly affects the life satisfaction are:
| Dimension | Description |
| Job is secure | This estimates the value of 1 person answering ‘very true’ |
| Good opportunities for promotion | This estimates the value of 1 person answering ‘strongly agree’ |
| Job has high autonomy | This estimates the value of 1 person answering 8-10 on a 10 point scale |
| High variety in work | This estimates the value of 1 person answering ‘very true’ |
| Co-workers are supportive | This estimates the value of 1 person answering ‘very true’ |
| High time pressure | This estimates the value of 1 person answering ‘strongly agree’ |
| Reduced family time | This estimates the value of 1 person answering ‘often/always’ |
| Worry about work when not working | This estimates the value of 1 person answering ‘often/always’ |
| Job is dangerous | This estimates the value of 1 person answering ‘very true’ |
Their analysis is based on European Social Survey dataset which is a longitudinal data on over one hundred thousand individuals in Britain, the United States, Australia, and Germany. To construct the social value generated by the job quality, we used the coefficients presented in the Online Appendix of Fleche and Ward (2018), Table 4.8 in Annexes. This table includes how life satisfaction (0-10) is affected by various dimensions of workplace quality.
Five of the nine dimensions have a positive impact on life satisfaction whereas four of them have a negative impact on life satisfaction. One point increase in job quality can happen when positive dimensions increase, and negative dimensions decrease. Headline value is the average of the nine dimensions. Average = £3624 rounded to £3600. Thus, the monetised value of 1 person improving job quality by 1 point is £3600.
Adjusted value for inflation to 2023 prices is £4,253. Our approach to inflation adjustments is explained on our Methodology page HERE
An overall rounded value of £4,300.
If you’re just starting out, start with Bronze first. The result of a Bronze measurement is just an estimate, but requires the least effort; whereas Silver, Gold and Gold+ give more accurate results but require more effort.
Each level has an effort to accuracy indicator, choose the one that’s right for you.
Bronze
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
Monetised social value: Multiply the number of your participating people that you expect to gain an improvement in job quality by the single proxy of £4,300.
If you are unable to capture information about the dimension of the workplace quality mitigated, or this is a plan for a future project, then you can use this value as a proxy for improving job quality.
Here’s an example
Let’s say your organization is running a program aimed at improving job quality for your employees. You anticipate that 50 employees participating in the program will see an improvement in their job quality. To calculate the monetised social value, you would multiply the number of employees experiencing this improvement (50) by £4,300.
Monetised social value = 50 * £4,300 = £215,000
Therefore, the monetised social value of your program would be £215,000.
Silver
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
Monetised social value: Consider realistically what dimensions you will be able to mitigate. Therefore, you can calculate a more accurate value of the improved job quality.
Consider which dimensions are improved for the employees you are supporting. You can calculate a more accurate estimate of the improvement with more information about which aspects of work are being targeted. The following table shows the weight and value of each dimension. The average gives the £3600 in 2019 prices.
| Dimensions | £ Value on Wellbeing in 2019 prices | £ Value on Wellbeing in 2023 prices (rounded values) |
|---|---|---|
| Job is secure | £2,990 | £3,509 (£3,500) |
| Good opportunities for promotion | £3,224 | £3,784 (£3,800) |
| Job has high autonomy | £2,990 | £3,509 (£3,500) |
| High variety in work | £3,263 | £3,830 (£3,800) |
| Co-workers are supportive | £3,458 | £4,059 (£4,100) |
| High time pressure | -£1,404 | -£1,648 (-£1,600) |
| Job prevents giving time to family/partner | -£6,357 | -£7,461 (-£7,500) |
| Worry about work when not working | -£4,108 | -£4,821 (-£4,800) |
| Job is dangerous | -£4,823 | -£5,661 (-£5,700) |
Here’s an example
Let’s say your organization is running a program to improve various aspects of job quality for 50 employees. You want to calculate a more accurate estimate of the monetised social value by considering the specific dimensions of job quality that are being improved. You determine that your program will address and improve the following dimensions for these employees:
- Job is secure (Value: £3,500)
- Good opportunities for promotion (Value: £3,800)
- Job has high autonomy (Value: £3,700)
- Co-workers are supportive (Value: £4,100)
- High variety in work (Value: £3,800)
Total value = £3500(Job is secure) + £3800 (Opportunities for promotion) + £3700 (Job has high autonomy) + £4100(Supportive co-workers) + £3800(High variety in work) = £18,700
Now, multiply this total value by the number of employees (50) to find the overall monetised social value: Monetised social value = £18,700 * 50 = £935,000
Therefore, the more accurate estimate of the monetised social value for your program, based on the specific dimensions of job quality improved, is £935,000
Gold
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
Monetised value: Measure actual amounts of difference that improved job quality makes to people’s lives
At Gold level you are looking to build on your silver estimations by engaging with the person or people affected.
Therefore, at the Gold level, you should survey users about their actual levels of wellbeing rather than using the proxy value.
There are many options for surveying people on their wellbeing.
A good starting point for questions to ask directly through primary research with your stakeholders is the Maximise Your Impact Guide. This guide covers 10 overall impact questions. For Gold level practice you would be looking to understand the question ‘what changes do people experience?’ and ‘how much of each change happened’. Questions you might want to include in your survey to uncover the outcomes they experience could include:
- What changed for you (or happened to you) as a result of our activity or programme?
- Were there any other changes?
- Did these changes lead on to anything else?
- Were the changes all positive?
- Were any of them unexpected?
- What did you want to happen?
- How did your situation/ circumstances affect your experience?
A starting point for questions related to wellbeing is to look at the What Works Centre for Wellbeing website: https://whatworkswellbeing.org/about-wellbeing/how-to-measure-wellbeing/ .
As you start to measure wellbeing directly from the people affected, one set of questions it is important to consider is the ONS4 – the national measures for subjective wellbeing in the UK which asks the following 4 questions on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is ‘not at all’ and 10 is ‘completely’:
- Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?
- Overall, to what extent do you feel that the things that you do in your life are worthwhile?
- Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?
- On a scale where 0 is ‘not at all anxious’ and 10 is ‘completely anxious’, how anxious did you feel yesterday overall?
You could also consider other data gathering activities, including direct observation, or focus groups.
How to measure workplace quality?
For measuring the change related to workplace quality directly with your stakeholders at Gold level, you will need to ask the validated question as used in the European Social Survey 2002 – 2022. To apply these values you should use the same question and ask it in the same way. The question should be asked in exactly this way
- “Using this card, please tell me how true each of the following statements is about your current job. My job is secure” [‘Not at all true’, ‘A little true’, ‘Quite true’, ‘Very true’, ‘Not applicable*’, ‘Refusal*’, ‘Don’t know*’, ‘No answer*’]
- “Still thinking about your current job, how much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? My opportunities for advancement are good.” [‘Agree strongly, ‘Agree’, ‘Neither agree nor disagree’, ‘Disagree’, ‘Disagree strongly ‘, ‘Not applicable*’, ‘Refusal*’, ‘Don’t know*’, ‘No answer*’]
- “Using this card, please tell me how true each of the following statements is about your current job. I can decide the time I start and finish work.” [‘Not at all true’, ‘A little true’, ‘Quite true’, ‘Very true’, ‘Not applicable*’, ‘Refusal*’, ‘Don’t know*’, ‘No answer*’]
- “Using this card, please tell me how true each of the following statements is about your current job. There is a lot of variety in my work.” [‘Not at all true’, ‘A little true’, ‘Quite true’, ‘Very true’, ‘Not applicable*’, ‘Refusal*’, ‘Don’t know*’, ‘No answer*’]
- “Using this card, please tell me how true each of the following statements is about your current job. I can get support and help from my co-workers when needed.” [‘Not at all true’, ‘A little true’, ‘Quite true’, ‘Very true’, ‘Not applicable*’, ‘Refusal*’, ‘Don’t know*’, ‘No answer*’]
- “Still thinking about your current job, how much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? I never seem to have enough time to get everything done in my job.” [‘Agree strongly, ‘Agree’, ‘Neither agree nor disagree’, ‘Disagree’, ‘Disagree strongly ‘, ‘Not applicable*’, ‘Refusal*’, ‘Don’t know*’, ‘No answer*’]
- “How often do you find that your job prevents you from giving the time you want to your partner or family?” [‘Never, ‘Hardly ever’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘Often’,’ Always’,’ Don’t have partner/family’, ‘Not applicable*’, ‘Refusal*’, ‘Don’t know*’, ‘No answer*’]
- “Using this card, how often do you… …keep worrying about work problems when you are not working?” [‘Never, ‘Hardly ever’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘Often’,’ Always’, ‘Not applicable*’, ‘Refusal*’, ‘Don’t know*’, ‘No answer*’]
- “Using this card, please tell me how true each of the following statements is about your current job. My health or safety is at risk because of my work.” [‘Not at all true’, ‘A little true’, ‘Quite true’, ‘Very true’, ‘Not applicable*’, ‘Refusal*’, ‘Don’t know*’, ‘No answer*’]
Support in developing your Gold survey approach is available through the Measure Up partners, so please do reach out to Impact, State of Life or PRD.
Gold+
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
At the Gold+ level, you are building on your Gold value calculation by assessing the value against the counterfactual, or ‘what would have happened anyway’.
To do this you should identify a control group suitable to assess in line with your intervention, in order to more accurately attribute any changes to your intervention.
You could also consider any other discount or causality elements linked to your job creation activity.
Support in developing your Gold+ counterfactual, causality and discount approach is available through the Measure Up partners, so please do reach out to Impact, State of Life or PRD.
| Value Type: | Activity |
What's this?
This is the type of value. Some values are outcomes, which means many different interventions might lead to them, others are specific interventions that have a set value. |
|---|---|---|
| UN SDG Categories: |
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What's this?
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are global goals adopted in 2015 for all signed up nations to achieve for us to have a sustainable global future by 2030. There are 17 Goals that address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030. |
| PN06/20 Categories: |
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What's this?
PPN 06/20 Taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts introduced the Central Government Social Value Model in 2020 which all Central Government contracting authorities must use in their in scope procurements. It consists of 5 themes, 8 policy outcomes, and 24 Model Award Criteria which outline key priority areas to achieve more |
Evidence
Measure Up focuses on empowering you to numerically measure the impact you’re having. We recommend that numeric reports are backed up with stories and other types of evidence to help illustrate, in human terms, the impact that’s being made on individuals.
We recommend seeking consent from one or more participants in your intervention to collect and tell their story. This should include a little background on the participant, a summing up of life before the intervention, the human impact of the intervention, and the longer term (if known) impact on the person’s life outside of, and after, the intervention.
Providing photographs, audio recordings, video interviews or even artefacts from the intervention (for example, writing, paintings, music, etc from creative interventions) can add more colour, and convey the emotional impact of interventions more directly.
In some cases it’s appropriate to anonymise or abbreviate the personal information of case study participants. No story should be published or shared without the recorded consent of the individual(s) it concerns. Individuals continue to own the rights to their stories and if they request you stop sharing the story or making it available online you should do so promptly and without need for justification.
Feedback
Measure Up is an open, collaborative and transparent. If you have any suggestions or feedback on our pragmatic, recommended approach to measuring and valuing social value, including wellbeing, economic, and fiscal impact, and effects on our environment, please get in touch so we can share and discuss this at our next Advisory Group meeting.
More help
We want to empower anyone to perform and improve their impact measurement – without needing a degree in economics.
If you need any more help, or just someone to do the legwork for you we can help signpost you to software, training and consultancy to help you get to grips with the impact you’re having.
