Remember David Cameron's plans to find out how happy we all are? The first set of experimental results on "subjective wellbeing measures" – otherwise known as the national happiness index – for the UK population is about to be released by the Office for National Statistics.
The thinking is that by gauging people's sense of wellbeing, the government can provide an alternative view of our progress as a nation beyond traditional economic measures – which, let's face it, are hardly giving anyone much cause for cheer right now.
Not surprisingly, several organisations connected with the world of work have been doing some deep thinking of their own around this topic, and the news for the prime minister is apparently better than expected.
According to research commissioned by office developers Goodman, the things that keep us most happy and motivated at work are both conceptually simple and reasonably cost-effective: namely, up to date computers, a desk for keeping personal things on, and access to decent coffee.
For those of us who spend much of our lives stuck behind a desk staring at a computer, the satisfaction of having a workspace on which to stash all your gonks will probably not come as a blinding shock (check out our gallery of readers' workspaces from earlier this year for an eclectic selection).
New, properly functioning technology was considered most important, with 83% of respondents citing it as the main factor influencing their wellbeing at work. About 40% of workers said a decent cup of coffee made all the difference which, for me, is a no-brainer. Here at the Guardian we can choose between a machine that regurgitates advanced coffee substitute (free), or a staff canteen that serves the real stuff (reasonably priced).
Personally I can't abide the free stuff, though my more financially minded colleagues seem to quite enjoy it – perhaps that's why they get to dish out the spending advice and I don't.
Another interesting titbit from the Goodman survey concerns the vital importance of staplers on office morale. This is apparently particularly true in London, where one in 10 workers complain there are not enough to go around. In Scotland, curiously, there appears to something of a stapler surplus, with one in five saying they have too many of the things. Have the Scots been quietly stealing them all?
Needless to say I will make sure these vital findings are passed on to the government at the wellbeing index launch. What are the things that make you happy at work? Or if your employer could make more effort in that department, what would do the trick?
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