Geographies in Depth

This chart shows which countries have the highest and lowest job satisfaction

office workers desks

What countries employees are satisfied at work. Image: Unsplash/Damir Kopezhanov

Katharina Buchholz
Data Journalist, Statista
  • This is what countries have the highest and lowest job satisfaction, according to the latest Randstad Workmonitor.
  • Indians are the most satisfied at work while Japanese are the least satisfied out of 34 countries surveyed.
  • The unhappiness of Japanese employees has almost become a hallmark of international workplace surveys.

According to the latest Randstad Workmonitor, Indians are the most satisfied at work while Japanese are the least satisfied out of 34 countries surveyed. Only 42 percent of Japanese said they were satisfied with their work and, to add insult to injury, 21 percent said they were dissatisfied, both the lowest and the highest outcomes in the survey, respectively.

While the lack of satisfaction at work can have many reasons - and much has been said about the cutthroat nature of Japanese working culture - a bad work environment also contributes to unhappiness. A new law that went into affect Monday in the country is now aiming at protecting workers from abuse and bullying. An extensive mention of physical abuse in the law shines a light on the grave problems of workplace harassment that have persisted in the country.

The unhappiness of Japanese employees has almost become a hallmark of international workplace surveys - from the now defunct Edenred-Ipsos Barometer to more recent surveys by Universum. According to the Randstad survey, Japanese were also the least likely to expect a pay rise or a bonus for their work at the end of 2019.

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Where job satisfaction is highest and lowest.
How do you feel about your time at work? Image: Statista
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