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oxwellresearch.bsky.social
Wellbeing Research Centre
@oxwellresearch.bsky.social
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oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🙏 Thank you to The Greater Good Science Center for featuring Why Workplace Wellbeing matters by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward among their favourite books of 2025!

Read more via Greater Good Magazine👇
greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item...
Quote from Greater Good Magazine, from the article ‘Our Favorite Books of 2025’, which reads: “Provides both justification for, and actionable approaches to, companies seeking healthier, more profitable workplaces.” The cover and URL for the book Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters are provided.
December 22, 2025 at 11:30 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🔍 Work Wellbeing Playbook 2.0 turns rigorous, peer-reviewed science into an accessible resource that speaks directly to the challenges people leaders face today.

Read more👇
worldwellbeingmovement.org/news/work-we...
Image of Cherise Regier of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, alongside the quote: “Workplace wellbeing research only makes a difference when it’s actually put into practice.”
December 18, 2025 at 1:30 PM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🌍 Robust, quantified pathways already exist for us to integrate multiple human impacts of climate change into environment–society–economy models, but are (currently) largely absent.

Read more in The Lancet Planetary Health👇
doi.org/10.1016/j.la...
A view of the Earth from space, overlaid with the text: "Most economic models of climate change currently exclude the wellbeing of people." The source of the finding is the paper ‘Inclusion of wellbeing impacts of climate change: a review of literature and integrated environment–society–economy models’, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, of which a full citation is provided.
December 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🗣️ “To create climate policy that reflects real human lives, #wellbeing needs to move from the margins to the centre of modelling efforts.”

Read more in The Conversation UK👇
theconversation.com/climate-acti...
Climate action saves lives. So why do climate models ignore wellbeing?
Why climate models miss what matters most: our wellbeing.
theconversation.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Reposted by Wellbeing Research Centre
hmcoxford.bsky.social
Members of @oxwellresearch.bsky.social, based at HMC and directed by Vice-Principal Prof Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, recently hosted a delegation from the Japanese Embassy, including Minister for Economic Affairs Mr Takuma Kajita, for a discussion on wellbeing. They are pictured in the Arlosh Hall.
Six people pose in a wood-panelled room next to a Christmas tree
December 4, 2025 at 10:06 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
Happiness *is* other people. Early findings from the Health & Happiness Study suggest that we are happiest during social and cultural activities.

Join the Health & Happiness Study👇
www.healthandhappinessstudy.com/join
Bar chart presented under the title “Wellbeing by Activity, Happiness”. Subtitle reads: “Preliminary findings from the Health & Happiness Study suggest we are at our happiest when engaging in cultural and social activities…” The chart plots 12 named categories (plus ‘other’) by the average level of reported happiness. Cultural and social activities are correlated with the highest levels of happiness, while work is correlated with the lowest. The source of the chart is preliminary data from the Health & Happiness Study, for which a URL is provided. Bar chart presented under the title “Wellbeing by Activity, Stress”. Subtitle reads: “…and we tend to be most stressed at work, commuting, or caring for children or other loved ones.” The chart plots 12 named categories (plus ‘other’) by the average level of reported stress. Working and care giving are correlated with the highest levels of stress, while cultural and active leisure activities are correlated with the lowest. The source of the chart is preliminary data from the Health & Happiness Study, for which a URL is provided.
December 3, 2025 at 11:30 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
❤️🩹 Greater investment in a wide range of mental health services would not only benefit population #wellbeing, but would save the UK Government more than they cost to implement.

Full report via @cep-lse.bsky.social👇
cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publica...
Bar chart presenting the ratio of benefits to net costs of a selection of UK policies. NHS Talking Therapies, psychological therapy service for addiction, employment support for moderate mental illness, Mental Health Support Teams in schools, and relaxing Green Belt near commuter stations are all shown to provide subsequent savings to the government which exceed their original cost. Further policies are shown to have benefits ranging from 27:1 for structured wellbeing lessons in schools, down to 0:1 for a 3% reduction in school class sizes. The source of the figure is the report “Value for Money: How to improve wellbeing and reduce misery”, published by the LSE Centre for Economic Performance, of which a full citation and a view of the report cover is provided.
November 25, 2025 at 9:30 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
😓 Between 2010 and 2019, the UK experienced the largest reduction in social spending in Western Europe and the greatest increase in feelings of worry.

Read the full paper in The Review of Income and Wealth.👇
doi.org/10.1111/roiw...
Image of individual with an umbrella walking in the rain, overlaid with the text: “The intensity of worry in Western European nations seems to be inversely linked to the level of social spending in a country.” The source of the finding is the paper ‘National Worry and the Psychological Value of Social Spending’, published in The Review of Income and Wealth, of which a full citation is provided.
November 20, 2025 at 10:15 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🚶 The relationship between physical activity and #wellbeing is well-documented, but is there an optimal level of exercise for happiness?

The Health & Happiness Study offers the opportunity to pinpoint some of the biometric correlates of wellbeing.👇
www.healthandhappinessstudy.com/join
Two scatter plots presented under the title “Daily Step Count and Positive/Negative Affect”. Subtitle reads: “Early findings from the Health & Happiness Study suggest those who walk 5,000 steps a day are happier than those that walk less. But levels of sadness continue to fall all the way up to 10,000 steps.” The top plot presents happiness (positive affect) by step count. This trend line rises steeply from zero steps to around 5,000 steps before flattening and then decresing slightly towards 20,000 steps. The bottom plot presents sadness (negative affect) by step count. This U-shape trend line falls steeply from around 2,000 steps to around 10,000 steps, before rising again to almost the same level of negative affect at 20,000 steps. The source of the plots is preliminary data from the Health & Happiness Study, for which a URL is provided.
November 18, 2025 at 11:30 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🔑 This model of workplace #wellbeing underpins Work Wellbeing Playbook 2.0, published this week by the World Wellbeing Movement.

Playbook 2.0 features recommendations to support leaders create effective research-informed work wellbeing strategies.👇
worldwellbeingmovement.org/playbook-2025/
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.
November 14, 2025 at 9:15 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🤗 Happy #WorldKindnessDay!

Data published in this year’s World Happiness Report shows that we’re still riding a post-Covid “benevolence bump” – despite evidence of a return towards pre-pandemic levels.

Read more in Ch2 of #WHR2025👇
doi.org/10.18724/whr...
Line graph presented under the title “Global Trends of Benevolence, 2005-2024”. Subtitle reads: “The most recent global data show benevolent acts continue to be, on average, around 10% more frequent than before the Covid-19 pandemic.” Lines for instances of helping strangers, donations, and volunteering are presented over time for the period 2005 to 2024, plus a line for any prosocial action. All four lines rise in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and, while trending to return to previous levels, remain above the levels observed in 2017-2019. The source of the graph is the Gallup World Poll, presented in Figure 2.2 from World Happiness Report 2025, published in the chapter “Caring and sharing: Global analysis of happiness and kindness”, of which a full citation is provided.
November 13, 2025 at 9:45 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
#Wellbeing science is drawing ever larger crowds!

Our Director, Prof Jan-Emmanuel De Neve recently delivered a keynote to Mind Summit 2025 in São Paulo, sharing how organisations that put people first are creating a lasting competitive advantage.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve delivering a keynote to Mind Summit 2025, held at the Vibra São Paulo, Brazil. Large audience engaging with Jan-Emmanuel De Neve’s keynote at Mind Summit 2025, held at the Vibra São Paulo, Brazil. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve in conversation with Adriana Drulla on stage at Mind Summit 2025, in front of the cover of the book Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters.
November 6, 2025 at 9:48 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
💼 Across all measures of #wellbeing, people in work tend to be happier than those out of work. Those who are unemployed fare worst of all, with large gaps in life satisfaction, meaning and emotions.
Four bar graphs presented under the title “Employment Status and Wellbeing around the World”. Charts are presented for four dimensions of work wellbeing: life satisfaction; meaningfulness; positive emotions; and negative emotions. Coloured bars represent the average level in each measure, by employment status. Those employed full-time score highest for life satisfaction, while those who are self-employed score highest for meaningfulness. Levels of positive emotions are comparatively flatter regardless of employment status, but lowest for those unemployed. Unemployed people also score highest for negative emotions. The source of the chart is Figure 3.1 of the book Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward, of which a full citation is provided.
October 28, 2025 at 11:02 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
📝 We’ve worked with the International Baccalaureate to highlight some of the most promising pathways to improving #wellbeing in schools.

A new series of bitesize research reports cover five important wellbeing themes for students, teachers and schools.👇
wellbeing.hmc.ox.ac.uk/schools/
Image of a smiling child presented alongside the title “Wellbeing Interventions in Schools”. Subtitle reads: “Five bitesize reports highlighting interventions on select themes related to wellbeing in schools,” alongside coloured labels for: Physical Activity; Whole School Approach; Teacher Wellbeing; Online Interventions; and Peer Relations: Bullying. The graphic includes the URL wellbeing.hmc.ox.ac.uk/schools as well as the logos of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, and the International Baccalaureate.
October 24, 2025 at 11:38 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
1️⃣ year in #wellbeing science ... check out our latest Annual Report!👇

wellbeing.hmc.ox.ac.uk/annual-repor...
View of the Siew-Sngiem Clock Tower at Harris Manchester College, Oxford, alongside the text ‘Annual Report 2025’ and the logo of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford.
October 13, 2025 at 8:30 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
LAST CHANCE: Registrations for the Reapra Dialogues close TODAY! Secure your place.👇
oxwellresearch.bsky.social Wellbeing Research Centre @oxwellresearch.bsky.social · Sep 26
💚 Join Prof Paul Behrens (Reapra Senior Research Fellow), Dr Wanying Zhou (Research Fellow), and Annegeke Jansen (Reapra Research Associate) among a full programme of #wellbeing experts at Reapra Dialogues 2025, from October 23 to 24.

Find out more👇
Reapra Dialogues 2025 | October 23-24
Home /
www.reapra.org
October 10, 2025 at 9:05 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🗣️ @cep-lse.bsky.social have a jam-packed schedule of #wellbeing seminars this term, including findings from two major RCTs in Germany and the United States.

Find out more👇
cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/events/...
View of the sculpture “The World Turned Upside Down” outside LSE’s Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.
October 7, 2025 at 9:45 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🎭 Striking the right balance between work and life outside of work is critical to our #wellbeing. Job flexibility, in particular, has a strong positive impact on our satisfaction with life.

#WorkLifeWeek
Seven plots presented under the title “Work-Life Balance Has a Substantial Impact on Wellbeing”. Subtitle reads: “Impact of each work-life balance factor on job and life satisfaction”. Points with error bars present seven different measures of work-life balance: Allowed to decide how daily work is organised; Allowed to influence policy decisions; Allowed to choose/change pace of work; Worry about work problems when not working; Can decide when to start/finish work; Job prevents you from giving time to partner/family; and Too tired after work to enjoy things like do at home. Measures suggestive of greater autonomy are associated with greater job and life satisfaction, and measures suggestive of poor work-life balance the inverse. Freedom to decide when to start or finish work is associated with a small decrease in both. The source of the chart is Figure 7.5 of the book Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward, of which a full citation is provided.
October 6, 2025 at 9:01 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
Improved workplace #wellbeing can unlock organisational potential via multiple pathways to performance, including:

⬆️ Productivity
⬆️ Retention
⬆️ Recruitment
Graphic with the title “Pathways to Performance”. A call to action encourages users to swipe to explore. Graphic presented under the title “Productivity”. In a field experiment of more than 1,800 call centre workers, a one-point increase in happiness (on a five-point scale) was associated, on average, with a 12% increase in productivity. This is the average across all tasks: the boost to productivity was as high as 20% among workers completing tasks requiring greater social skills. The source of the finding is the article ‘Does employee happiness have an impact on productivity?’, published in the journal Management Science, of which a full citation is provided. Graphic presented under the title “Retention”. Happier companies have lower employee turnover. Companies with an average job satisfaction of four (out of five) instead of three typically report about a quarter less employee turnover from year to year. Employees who rate their companies two stars or less (as compared to leaving five stars) are twice as likely to begin an application to a new job on Glassdoor that week. The source of the finding is the paper ‘Workplace Happiness and Job Search Behavior: Evidence From A Field Experiment’, of which a full citation is provided. Graphic presented under the title “Recruitment”. A study of more than 23 million job seekers in the US using the platform Indeed, found that organisations with higher wellbeing scores gained around 2% more applications than average - companies with the lowest scores received 3% fewer than average. The source of the finding is the paper ‘Workplace Happiness and Job Search Behavior: Evidence From A Field Experiment’, of which a full citation is provided.
October 2, 2025 at 10:36 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
💚 Join Prof Paul Behrens (Reapra Senior Research Fellow), Dr Wanying Zhou (Research Fellow), and Annegeke Jansen (Reapra Research Associate) among a full programme of #wellbeing experts at Reapra Dialogues 2025, from October 23 to 24.

Find out more👇
Reapra Dialogues 2025 | October 23-24
Home /
www.reapra.org
September 26, 2025 at 7:45 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
👏 Congrats to Dr Alberto Prati, Ajinomoto Research Fellow, who picked up the ISQOLS Young Scholar Award for his contributions to #wellbeing science.

Alberto was recognised alongside former KSI Research Fellow, Dr Lucía Macchia, and Centre Affiliate, Dr Mark Fabian.
Alberto Prati receives the ISQOLS Young Scholar Award from Francesco Sarracino.
September 24, 2025 at 8:45 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🧑‍💻 Job autonomy peaks early in a person’s career and then collapses. A typical worker’s subjective perception of job autonomy increases until the surprisingly early age of 40, and then falls over the next 20 to 30 years of their working life.

SOURCE 👉 doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Bar chart presented under the title “Perceived Job Autonomy by Age in the UK”. Subtitle reads: “Perceptions of job autonomy change as we age. Research suggests older workers prefer jobs with greater autonomy, yet report lower autonomy at work than younger colleagues.” Vertical bars show that perceptions of job autonomy appear to rise among young professionals, peaking among those aged 30-33. Levels are maintained through most of middle age, and then drop steeply from 46-49 through to 62-65. Notes state that the chart is based upon a total of 63,686 observations from 28,985 UK workers, with the bars representing estimated coefficients from a fixed-effects regression model. The source of the chart is the UKHLS for the years 2012 to 2018, presented in Figure 2A of the journal article “The growth and collapse of autonomy at work” published in PNAS, of which a full citation is provided.
September 19, 2025 at 8:58 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🤔 Even with the best of intentions, how can we possibly choose the ‘right’ solution when individuals’ #wellbeing is at stake?

We don’t necessarily have to choose one over another, after all...👇
doi.org/10.3998/ergo...
Image of Michael Plant of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, alongside the quote: “None of us is certain about ethics. What should we do when we don’t know what’s right? Our new paper develops a ‘moral marketplace’ theory to guide decisions under moral uncertainty.”
September 11, 2025 at 8:45 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
NEW: Imagine you’re a policymaker that wants to put #wellbeing first, but you know there are different, seemingly competing accounts of wellbeing.

How do you possibly choose?

Read more from Michael Plant and colleagues in the journal Ergo👇
doi.org/10.3998/ergo...
First page of the article “Moral Uncertainty, Proportionality and Bargaining”, published in the journal Ergo. A DOI link is provided at the bottom for users wishing to read more.
September 5, 2025 at 11:30 AM
oxwellresearch.bsky.social
🚑 The UK is not alone in facing growing demands for assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health conditions.

But does the NHS’ digital transformation go far enough to secure the #wellbeing of service users and providers?

Read more👇
doi.org/10.2196/66040
Image of William Fleming of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, alongside the quote: “We can’t just assume the right answer is digital. We need any change to include the individuals who rely on these services as well as those who work to provide them.”
August 29, 2025 at 8:45 AM