Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters
The Science Behind Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance
Published on 25. March 2025
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-64782-635-2 (ISBN)
Description
The definitive account of workplace wellbeing and its key drivers, offering a fresh, data-driven perspective on the connections between happiness, productivity, and organizational success.
Most of us spend a third of our waking lives at work. Work shapes our schedules, relationships, identities, and economies-but is it actually making us happy? This crucial question is explored in depth by leading Oxford researchers Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward, who provide the richest, most comprehensive picture of workplace wellbeing yet.
In Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters, the authors clarify what workplace wellbeing is (and is not) and offer a framework for how businesses can approach and improve it. Drawing on extensive large-scale data-including the world's largest data set on employee wellbeing, gathered in partnership with the jobs platform Indeed-the book reveals the remarkable ways in which wellbeing at work varies across workers, occupations, companies, and industries.
The authors present new, evidence-based insights into the origins of workplace wellbeing and how businesses can enhance the employee experience. Integrating work from multiple academic disciplines, they show that workplace wellbeing encompasses both how we think about our work as a whole and how we feel while doing it. Their research demonstrates that improving wellbeing can boost productivity, aid in talent retention and recruitment, and ultimately improve financial performance.
With in-depth analysis and keen insight, De Neve and Ward debunk myths and test assumptions amid an often confusing cacophony of voices on wellbeing at work. Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters provides a firm foundation and indispensable resource for leaders seeking to shape the future of work.
Most of us spend a third of our waking lives at work. Work shapes our schedules, relationships, identities, and economies-but is it actually making us happy? This crucial question is explored in depth by leading Oxford researchers Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward, who provide the richest, most comprehensive picture of workplace wellbeing yet.
In Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters, the authors clarify what workplace wellbeing is (and is not) and offer a framework for how businesses can approach and improve it. Drawing on extensive large-scale data-including the world's largest data set on employee wellbeing, gathered in partnership with the jobs platform Indeed-the book reveals the remarkable ways in which wellbeing at work varies across workers, occupations, companies, and industries.
The authors present new, evidence-based insights into the origins of workplace wellbeing and how businesses can enhance the employee experience. Integrating work from multiple academic disciplines, they show that workplace wellbeing encompasses both how we think about our work as a whole and how we feel while doing it. Their research demonstrates that improving wellbeing can boost productivity, aid in talent retention and recruitment, and ultimately improve financial performance.
With in-depth analysis and keen insight, De Neve and Ward debunk myths and test assumptions amid an often confusing cacophony of voices on wellbeing at work. Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters provides a firm foundation and indispensable resource for leaders seeking to shape the future of work.
Reviews / Votes
"They have done some of the best analysis in the field seeking to understand the drivers of wellbeing, and its links to productivity." - Financial TimesAdvance Praise for Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters:
"Workplace wellbeing is more important but also more elusive than ever. The good news is that De Neve and Ward have given us an evidence-based guide to finding it. This book is truly essential reading for every leader in business today." - Laurie Santos, Professor of Psychology, Yale University; host, The Happiness Lab podcast
"Finally-a smart, complete, and readable account of the science of workplace wellbeing, along with practical advice about how to improve it. Forget all that nonsense about effective habits and visionary leadership. This is the book every executive, manager, and business owner should read." - Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University; author, New York Times bestseller Stumbling on Happiness
"How we feel at work not only matters greatly for human wellbeing, it's also crucial to company performance. De Neve and Ward provide us with the evidence and tools we need to take workplace wellbeing and performance to the next level. This book is a game changer." - Diana Han, MD, Chief Health and Wellbeing Officer, Unilever
"Wellbeing is good for us: it makes us happier, healthier, and more resilient. Finally, in this splendid book, De Neve and Ward also give us compelling evidence that wellbeing is measurable and profitable." - Martin Seligman, Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania; author, New York Times bestseller Authentic Happiness
"'Workplace wellbeing matters.' Everyone says this, but what is workplace wellbeing and how can we improve it? This excellent, evidence-rich book opens the black box and identifies the specific features of workplace wellbeing that are linked to improved performance, providing practical steps for managers to enhance them." - Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance, London Business School; author, Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit
"It's clear we're in a new era for organizations in which the ability to attract and retain talent is absolutely critical to innovation and success. This book conclusively demonstrates that workplace wellbeing should underpin any company's strategy. A must-read." - Loren Shuster, Chief People Officer, LEGO Group
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 164 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
574 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-64782-635-2 (9781647826352)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve | George Ward
Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters
The Science Behind Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance
E-Book
03/2025
Harvard Business Review Press
€30.99
Available for download
Persons
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science at the University of Oxford, where he directs the Wellbeing Research Centre. His research, published in top academic journals, was included among "The Management Ideas That Mattered Most" by Harvard Business Review. He is an editor of the World Happiness Report and coauthor of the preeminent textbook on wellbeing science.
George Ward earned his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is currently the Mary Ewart Junior Research Fellow in Economics at Somerville College, University of Oxford. He coauthored The Origins of Happiness: The Science of Well-Being over the Life Course and has published widely on the topic of human wellbeing in leading academic journals.
George Ward earned his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is currently the Mary Ewart Junior Research Fellow in Economics at Somerville College, University of Oxford. He coauthored The Origins of Happiness: The Science of Well-Being over the Life Course and has published widely on the topic of human wellbeing in leading academic journals.