November 29, 2023

Making Faith Work: Job Satisfaction in the UK

The Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) commissioned a bespoke nationally-representative survey which focused on the relationship between faith and job satisfaction in the UK. Fieldwork was carried out by TechneUK (a member of the British Polling Council [BPC]) between the 29th September and 8th October 2023. A total of 2,004 UK adults were surveyed across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. These are the key findings.

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Key findings

Among UK respondents who were either employed or self-employed at the time they took the survey, 57% said they had a strong sense of belonging in the sphere of working life. 28% said it was neither strong nor weak, while 15% said it was weak.
Among UK respondents who are employed or self-employed, nearly two in three said they were trusting of their work colleagues and professional contacts (64%). While around one in five (21%) said they were neither trusting nor distrusting, 15% said they were distrusting of such colleagues and contacts.
Among UK respondents who are employed (excluding self-employment), 44% felt positively about how their employer respects their religious beliefs and accommodates their religious practices. While 46% were indifferent on the matter, 5% said they had negative views about their employer on this front.
Among UK respondents who are either employed by an organisation or in self-employment, nearly two in three (64%) are satisfied with their job. While one in five (exactly 20%) are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, 15% reported job dissatisfaction.
Among UK respondents in general, four in five (80%) say that it is important to carry out the everyday responsibilities and duties of life in a thorough manner. 8% say it is unimportant.
Among UK respondents in general, under a quarter (24%) believe that the UK economy’s best days lie ahead. The percentage of those who categorically do not believe this is nearly double that at 46%, with the remaining 30% saying they do not know or are not sure.

Employers accommodating for religious beliefs and practices

Among employed UK respondents who say that their religious background is important to their personal identity, around three in four (73%) feel positively about how their employer respects their religious beliefs and accommodates their religious practices. Only 3% feel negatively about their employer on this front, with 20% stating that they neither feel positively or negatively on this.
Similarly, among employed UK respondents who say that they have a strong attachment to God/Gods/Higher Spiritual Being/s, around three in four (73%) feel positively about how their employer respects their religious beliefs and accommodates their religious practices. Only 2% feel negatively about their employer on this front, with 20% stating that they neither feel positively or negatively on this.

Trust in work colleagues and professional contacts

Among employed and self-employed respondents who state that their religious background is important to their personal identity, more than three in four say they trust their work colleagues and professional contacts overall (77%), with 7% saying that they are distrusting of them.
Among employed and self-employed respondents who state that their religious background is not important to their personal identity, 54% say they trust their work colleagues and professional contacts overall (with 23% saying that they are distrusting of them).
Among employed and self-employed respondents who have a stated religious affiliation (Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Jewish), nearly three in four say they are trusting of their work colleagues and professional contacts (74%), with 7% saying they were distrusting.
Among employed and self-employed respondents who consider themselves to be atheists, less than half (49%) were trusting of their work colleagues and professional contacts overall. Nearly three in ten were distrusting of such people in their work-related life (29%).
Among employed and self-employed respondents who say that they have a strong attachment to God/Gods/Higher Spiritual Being/s, over three in four say they are trusting of their work colleagues and professional contacts (76%), with 8% being distrusting of them overall.
Among employed and self-employed respondents who say that they do not believe in God/Gods/Higher Spiritual Being/s, 50% say they are trusting of their work colleagues and professional contacts, with more than one in four (27%) being distrusting of them.

Religiosity and job satisfaction

Among employed UK respondents who stated that their religious background is important to their personal identity, over three in four (77%) reported being satisfied with their job (with 9% being dissatisfied). For those who say their religious background is unimportant to their personal identity, the rate of job satisfaction is 56% – a drop of 21 percentage points. In this latter group, over one in five (22%) are dissatisfied with their job.
Among employed UK respondents who have a stated religious affiliation (Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Jewish), nearly three in four (73%) reported job satisfaction (with 9% being dissatisfied). Only half of atheist respondents reported job satisfaction (50%), with over a quarter stating that they are dissatisfied with their job (27%).
For employed UK respondents who say that they have a strong attachment to God/Gods/Higher Spiritual Being/s, over three in four report job satisfaction (77%), with one in ten saying they are dissatisfied (10%). Among respondents who do not believe in divine or spiritual power/s, 52% report being satisfied with their job – with a quarter reporting job dissatisfaction (25%).

Religiosity and responsibility/duty

Among UK respondents who say that their religious background is important to their personal identity, 87% say it is important to carry out everyday responsibilities and duties in a thorough manner (with 4% saying it is unimportant). Among those who say their religious background is unimportant to their personal identity, 73% say it is important to carry out everyday responsibilities and duties in a thorough manner (with 12% saying it is unimportant).
Among UK respondents who say that they have a strong attachment to God/Gods/Higher Spiritual Being/s, 89% say that it is important to carry out everyday responsibilities and duties in a thorough manner (with 4% saying that it is unimportant). Among those who do not believe in the existence of a divine power or spiritual being (or beings), 70% say it is important to carry out everyday responsibilities and duties in a thorough manner (with 14% saying it is unimportant).
Among UK respondents who state a clear religious affiliation (Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Jewish), 86% say it is important to carry out everyday responsibilities and duties in a thorough manner (with 4% saying it is unimportant). Among atheist respondents, 69% say it is important to carry out everyday responsibilities and duties in a thorough manner (with 16% saying it is unimportant).

Religiosity and optimism over the future of the UK economy

Among UK respondents who stated that their religious background is important to their personal identity, 35% believe that the UK economy’s best days lie ahead. This drops to 17% for those who say that their religious background is unimportant to their personal identity. In the former group, 35% categorically do not believe that the UK economy’s best days lie ahead – rising to 57% for the latter group.
Among UK respondents who say that they have a strong attachment to God/Gods/Higher Spiritual Being/s, 34% believe that the UK economy’s best days lie ahead. This falls to 16% among those who do not believe in the existence of divine and spiritual power/s. In the former group, 35% categorically do not believe that the UK economy’s best days lie ahead – rising to 60% for the latter group.
Among UK respondents who stated a clear religious affiliation (Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Jewish), 31% believe that the UK economy’s best days lie ahead. This drops to 16% among atheist respondents. In the former group, 36% categorically do not believe that the UK economy’s best days lie ahead – rising to 59% for atheist respondents.

About the author

Dr Rakib Ehsan

Dr Rakib Ehsan is a senior research associate at IIFL. A British-Bangladeshi academic specialising in matters of cohesion, identity and immigration, his PhD thesis investigated the effects of social integration for Britain’s non-white minorities.