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Wellbeing Research Centre

@oxwellresearch.bsky.social

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2d ago

🌍 Our health and the health of the planet are often treated as separate challenges. A new paper published in The Lancet Planetary Health argues it’s time to think differently.👇 doi.org/10.1016/j.la...

An image of a scuba diver swimming past a coral reef, surrounded by a shoal of orange fish, overlaid with the text: “Researchers have presented a new practical framework for developing and evaluating interventions that promote both human and ecological wellbeing.”

The source of the finding is the paper ‘Ecological-collective-flourishing (e-co-flourishing): a framework to guide innovation and research’, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, of which a full citation is provided.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · last wk.

📸 Shifting focus from ‘I’ to ‘we’ helps us move from ill-being to #wellbeing. Speaking to The Independent, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve explained how the quality and richness of our social lives is an all-too-often underrated dimension of subjective wellbeing.👇 www.the-independent.com/life-style/w...

Image of a group of friends taking a selfie, overlaid with the text 'wellbeing' and, above it, the word 'illbeing', which is crossed out. The letters 'we' at the start of 'wellbeing' and the letter 'i' at the start of 'illbeing' are highlighted for emphasis.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2w ago

🗣️ “It isn’t just a case of cultural expectations. It shows that the environment in which people live matters a great deal.” Jan-Emmanuel De Neve features in New Scientist👇

What the world’s happiest countries can teach us about joyful living | New Scientist

As editor of the World Happiness Report, few people know more than Jan-Emmanuel De Neve about what makes a country happy. He reveals what we can learn from the nations where people feel the most…

newscientist.com

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2w ago

𝖭𝖨𝖱 7.81 out of 10 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 7.51 out of 10 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 7.50 out of 10 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 7.47 out of 10 Life satisfaction – a key component of #wellbeing – is not felt equally across the UK. Explore the 2026 UK Wellbeing Report, published by the World Wellbeing Movement.👇 worldwellbeingmovement.org/uk-wellbeing...

Map of the UK presented under the title “Life Satisfaction in the UK, 2025”. Subtitle reads: “People in Northern Ireland are, on average, more satisfied with their lives than people elsewhere in the UK.”

Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and nine regions of England are highlighted in shades of blue, with darker shades representing higher levels of life satisfaction.

Each is individually labeled: Northern Ireland (7.81), South West (7.58), South East (7.57), East Midlands (7.56), North East (7.51), Yorkshire & Humber (7.51), Scotland (7.50), West Midlands (7.50), East (7.49), North West (7.48), Wales (7.47), and London (7.41). The national average is 7.51 out of 10.

The source of the map is the 2026 UK Wellbeing Report published by the World Wellbeing Movement, of which a full citation is provided.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 4w ago

🧐 Burnout isn’t a new concept – we just came up with a new word for it. Take a look at what the Victorians called ‘overwork’ and how they sought to treat it in this fascinating piece by the University of Oxford’s Sally Shuttleworth for The Conversation.👇 theconversation.com/victorians-c...

A group of men and women in formal Victorian-era clothing and a sleeping dog are pictured in front of an archway in Menton on the French Riviera. The image is credit to Archives Municipales, Menton, catalogue reference 11Fi58.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 4w ago

🤝 Happiness thrives when we feel we can rely on both the people around us and the institutions that shape our lives. About two thirds of UK adults rate their trust in other people at 6 out of 10 or higher – but far fewer report the same level of trust in the Government.

Line chart presented under the title “Trust in the UK, 2022-2026”. Subtitle reads: “About two thirds of UK adults rate their trust in other people at 6 out of 10 or higher - but far fewer report the same level of trust in the Government.”

The share of respondents who rated trust at 6 out of 10 or higher is presented for both ‘Trust in other people’ and ‘Trust in the Government’. The line for ‘Trust in other people’ remains largely stable between a low of 62.3%, and ending in March 2026 in a high of 67.7%. The line for ‘Trust in the Government’ is much lower throughout, but fluctuates more, starting at around 25%, dropping to a low of 19.%% in November 2023, and ending in March 2026 in a high of 29.2%.

The source of the plot is the Office for National Statistics’ June 2026 publication of Beyond GDP Insights, of which a full citation is provided.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · last mo.

Be curious. Ask questions.

Three stills from Jan-Emmanuel De Neve’s appearance on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast. Jay Shetty asks: “What skill would you encourage students to think about learning in the uncertain environment we’re in right now?” Jan-Emmanuel De Neve responds: “The real skill will be asking the right questions, not finding answers – because tools and LLMs will do that for us. But we still need to ask the right questions, to prod the machines to do the job for us.”

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · last mo.

👊 We need to put the ‘social’ back in social media. Findings published in World Happiness Report 2026 suggest that people – young people in particular – might be better off without social media. And a sizeable proportion of US youth agree. #SocialMediaDay

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · last mo.

👋 We enjoyed the sunshine with friends from across the #wellbeing research community on Saturday. A big thank you to Jan-Emmanuel De Neve for hosting, to Laura Taylor and Leoni Boyle for helping to spread the joy, and to all who made it such a special afternoon.

Group photo of members of the Wellbeing Research Centre community in grassland on Boars Hill with Oxford in the background.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🤗 Social support – having people you can rely on when times get tough – is a big deal for population #wellbeing. The quality of people’s social relationships helps explain cross-national differences in happiness just as much as (and often better than) economic factors.

Stacked area line chart presented under the title “Social Support in the UK, 2022-2026”. Subtitle reads: “Almost 9 in 10 UK adults report having people they can rely on when times get tough. Social support is a strong predictor of overall population wellbeing.”

The share of respondents is presented on the chart in five distinct sections. The share of each section has stayed relatively stable over time. The largest section is ‘Strongly agree’ (45.2% in April 2026), followed by ‘Agree’ (42.2%), ‘Neither agree nor disagree’ (9.5%), ‘Disagree’ (2.6%), and finally ‘Strongly disagree’ (0.4%).

The source of the plot is the Office for National Statistics’ June 2026 publication of Beyond GDP Insights, of which a full citation is provided.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

LAST CALL: The deadline to submit a paper for the BSA Early Career Workshop on the Sociology of Work and Wellbeing at Harris Manchester College, Oxford, is next Friday 18 June.👇 www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-b...

Graphic to promote the Early Career Workshop on the Sociology of Work and Wellbeing taking place at Harris Manchester College, Oxford, on Friday 18 September 2026.

The workshop is a British Sociological Association Early Career Forum regional event. We invite papers exploring how to integrate and revitalise sociological perspectives on work and wellbeing.

The information is presented alongside a view of a group of people heading to work, plus the logos of the British Sociological Association, the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, and Harris Manchester College, Oxford.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🤖 The race to automate using AI is a race to the bottom – instead, leaders should be encouraging AI augmentation. Each path comes with its own short- and long-term implications, not least for employee #wellbeing and the health of the organisation. Read via @hbr.org👇 hbr.org/2026/04/why-...

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🗣️ “When leaders openly cut human compensation to fund AI, they are trying to project decisive, tech-forward management. “However, the actual message traveling to the workforce is that they do not have a secure future in the organisation.”👇 www.businessinsider.com/teradata-pau...

A CEO told employees they won't get raises in 2026 because the budget is going to AI

Cloud software firm Teradata has told employees not to expect annual salary raises in 2026, and says it is putting the money towards AI instead.

businessinsider.com

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🔢 Evaluative, affective, and eudaimonic dimensions come together in these four questions to constitute workplace #wellbeing. Only once organisations understand *how* their employees are feeling can they start to find out *why* they feel the way they do about life at work.

Graphic presented under the title “A Survey Module for Workplace Wellbeing”. Subtitle reads: “This succinct four-question module is designed to assess the key dimensions which constitute workplace wellbeing: evaluative, affective, and eudaimonic.”

Four questions are presented, alongside the labels ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Purpose’, ‘Happiness’ and ‘Purpose’. The questions are, respectively: “Overall, how satisfied are you with your job?”; “Overall, how purposeful and meaningful do you find your work?”; “How happy did you feel while at work during the past week?”; and “How stressed did you feel while at work during the past week?”.

A note highlights that responses to each question should be given on a 0 to 10 scale.

The source of the figure is Table 2.2 of the book Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward, of which a full citation is provided.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

😢 Nearly 1 in 5 young adults globally report having no one to count on for social support – a 39% increase compared to 2006. Watch Jan-Emmanuel De Neve’s full conversation with Jay Shetty on YouTube or listen to On Purpose wherever you get your podcasts.👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzTQ...

Three stills from Jan-Emmanuel De Neve’s appearance on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, featuring the quote: “If you are less social, you will have less social support. In times of need, you’ll have less people to call on. Left to our own devices, we underestimate the kindness of others. So, we need to get in touch with, and in front of, other people to find out that they’re actually all right.”

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

😒 Comparison is the thief of joy. A study of data from 90,000+ people across 109 countries finds wellbeing is often tied more strongly to income rank than absolute income.👇 doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Forest plot presented under the title “Income Rank and Wellbeing”. Subtitle reads: “Subjective wellbeing is more strongly associated with income rank than with absolute income or relative income deprivation - especially in the most materialistic countries.”

A total of 21 population-level domains are listed on the left-hand side, grouped into categories of ‘Economy’, ‘Confidence and Trust’, ‘Materialism’, ‘Individualism’ and ‘Social Preferences. Both the marginal effects of income rank on life evaluation and the differential of the effect versus a reference category are presented.

A positive association between income rank and subjective wellbeing is shown to be statistically significant across all domains.

The source of the plot is the paper ‘Social status and the relationship between income rank and well-being in 109 nations’, published in Nature Communications, of which a full citation is provided.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🔍 World Happiness Report 2027 will investigate the existing and potential impact of public policy on happiness. Find out more and submit your own chapter proposal by Sunday 31 May👇 www.worldhappiness.report/news/submit-...

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🤔 When is a four-day week *not* a four-day week? William Fleming compares work time compression and work time reduction through subjective #wellbeing and domestic labour outcomes. His findings reveal divergent implications for UK workers.👇

Reduce or Compress? Panel Survey Evidence from the UK on Working Time Arrangements and Wellbeing | WTR-RN

Home

wtr-rn.com

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

⏳ The deadline for paper submissions to the British Sociological Association’s Early Career Workshop on the sociology of work and #wellbeing is Thursday 18 June 2026.👇 www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-b...

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🗣️ “Our approach brings conceptual clarity by clearly distinguishing between how people feel at work and what might be driving it and, in turn, that enables evidence-based policies to effectively help improve workplace #wellbeing and performance.”👇 www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/news/oxford-...

Flowchart presented under the title “A Model of Workplace Wellbeing”.

On the left, six groups of drivers of workplace wellbeing are listed: Development and security; Relationships; Independence and flexibility; Variety and fulfilment; Earnings and benefits; and Risk, health, and safety.

The six groups of drivers combine to feed the four measures of workplace wellbeing at the centre of the flowchart: Job satisfaction; Meaning and purpose; Positive emotions; and Negative emotions.

Workplace wellbeing is shown to feed three pathways to performance: productivity; recruitment; and retention, which in turn feed firm performance.

The source of the chart is Figure 1.4 of the book Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward, of which a full citation is provided.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🤝 Together with financial intelligence experts S&P Global, we have established a strategic collaboration to enable new research into how emerging technologies are changing the landscape of work.👇 wellbeing.hmc.ox.ac.uk/news/sp-glob...

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🤖 The most-automated roles also score lowest across all four measures of workplace #wellbeing. But there is no guarantee that those who currently do these unhappy tasks will find jobs doing more meaningful or enjoyable work.

Four scatter plots presented under the title “Job Automation and Wellbeing”. Subtitle reads: “Jobs with the highest degree of automation are also those that workers tend to be the least happy performing, across all four measures of workplace wellbeing.”

Data points are plotted by domain of workplace wellbeing on the y-axis, against a scale of job automation on the x-axis. Trendlines for each plot show a negative correlation between automation and the domains of job satisfaction, purpose, and happiness, and a positive correlation between automation and stress.

The source of the chart is Figure 12.1 of the book Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward, of which a full citation is provided.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

No email. No paid leave. No remote work. Work has changed since 1926. The work week hasn’t. Yet a large-scale UK pilot by the 4 Day Week Foundation found that a switch to a four-day week was associated with a 71% decrease in employee burnout and a 35% increase in revenue.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

😊 Dr Marc Schulz will share life stories and research findings from nine decades (and counting) of The Harvard Study of Adult Development at Harris Manchester College’s Upton Lecture this May. Find out more and book your free place👇 hmc.ox.ac.uk/event/2026-u...

Graphic to promote The Upton Lecture at Harris Manchester College, Oxford.

The 2026 edition will be delivered by Dr Marc Schulz at 5.15pm on Monday 11 May under the title “A Good and Meaningful Life: The World’s Longest Study of Happiness”.

For the 2026 Upton Lecture Dr Marc Schulz, co-author of the New York Times Bestseller, The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness, will present findings from the Harvard Study of Adult Development, of which he is Associate Director. Using life stories and research findings, Dr Schulz will share why the Harvard Study (and other studies) point to relationships as a key foundation of the “good life”.

The talk will be hosted in Harris Manchester College Chapel on Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TD.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 4mo ago

🚔 Crime leads to a range of adverse outcomes for those who live nearby, yet little is known about how the mental health of local residents is affected when an incident of violent crime occurs in their vicinity ... until now.👇 doi.org/10.1111/ecca...

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 4mo ago

🤖 CEOs are facing a strategic fork in the road when it comes to AI. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Jeff Hancock and Kate Niederhoffer explore automation versus augmentation and their implications for employee #wellbeing and companies’ long-term success for Harvard Business Review.👇 hbr.org/2026/04/why-...

Why Companies That Choose AI Augmentation Over Automation May Win in the Long Run

Leaders are making a choice with their AI strategy: Are they primarily seeking to improve the bottom line through automation and headcount reduction, or grow the top line in innovative ways through au...

hbr.org

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 4mo ago

🔍 Are you an Early Career Researcher studying the sociology of work and #wellbeing? Details 👉 www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-b...

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Our idea of a ‘good life’ changes over time. Alberto Prati and Claudia Senik revisit the Easterlin Paradox, considering that #wellbeing scales refer to a changing context.👇 doi.org/10.1016/j.jp...

Line graph presented under the title “A Hidden Increase in Wellbeing, 1959-2008”. Subtitle reads: “Using a simple rescaling model based on current and retrospective life evaluations, we find that the wellbeing of Americans has substantially increased since the 1950s.”

The chart plots relative measures of reported life evaluation, adjusted life evaluation, GDP per capita, and augmented HDI from 1959 to 2008.

Reported life evaluation (as a blue line) has stayed relatively stable since 1959. Upper and lower bounds for adjusted life evaluation (as pink lines) rise over time, with the upper bound ending up at more than 2.5x reported life evaluation by 2008. People reinterpret their idea of a ‘good life’ over time, and therefore improvement to wellbeing may be hidden without rescaling.

The source of the figure is the paper “Is it possible to raise national happiness?” published in the Journal of Public Economics, of which a full citation is provided.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 4mo ago

📵 Against a backdrop of rising connectivity, several European countries (and beyond) have followed France in introducing right-to-disconnect (R2D) legislation. But the benefits are not felt equally across the workforce...👇 doi.org/10.1111/bjir...

Map of Europe presented under the title “European Countries with R2D Legislation”. Subtitle reads: “Right-to-disconnect provisions vary substantially across Europe in their reliance on collective bargaining, firm-level discretion and individual characteristics.”

Nine countries are highlighted in pink, with the year that they introduced right-to-disconnect legislation. They are: France (2017), Italy (2017), Spain (2018), Belgium (2018), Ireland (2021), Slovakia (2021), Portugal (2022), Luxembourg (2023), and Slovenia (2024).

The graphic also includes a full citation of the paper ‘Who Benefits From Right-to-Disconnect Legislation in Europe? Cross-National and Gendered Effects on Employee Wellbeing’, published in the British Journal of Industrial Relations.

Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · 4mo ago

👀 Are your messages being received in the way you think they are? A switch from emails to voice notes can help reduce ambiguity in workplace communications, and in turn reduce negative experiences.👇 wellbeing.hmc.ox.ac.uk/news/loud-an...

Image of William Fleming of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, alongside the quote: “The variation we find in the different voice notes highlights that we have to think about who is receiving messages, as well as the task at hand.”