CIPD Good Work Index
The CIPD Good Work Index provides an annual snapshot of job quality in the UK, giving insight to drive improvement to working lives

The CIPD Good Work Index draws together valuable insight into jobs and people’s experience of work, informing the actions of workers, employers and policy makers to help make work a force for good for everyone.
Since 2018, the CIPD has been measuring job quality through our comprehensive UK Working Lives Survey of more than 5,000 workers across different sectors and occupations. Each year, we’ve asked them about key aspects of their work and employment. Among other things, the data reveals a worrying drop in health and wellbeing over the last three years and highlights that some jobs are clearly better than others. The COVID-19 pandemic is a catalyst for us to re-evaluate how we work and this benchmark of working lives shows how we can protect not just the quantity but also the quality of jobs.
Download the 2020 report and appendices below.
7 dimensions of job quality

Pay and benefits

Employment contracts

Work–life balance

Job design and nature of work

Relationships at work

Employee voice

Health and wellbeing
CIPD view on good work
Work is a huge portion of our lives. It can and should be a force for good for all, benefitting individuals, organisations and society as a whole. Measures of GDP and employment rates are important, but we also need to understand whether the jobs we have are good or poor and how they can be improved.
But what does a quality job look like? At the CIPD, we believe that good work:
- is fairly rewarded gives people the means to securely make a living
- allows for work–life balance gives opportunities to develop and ideally a sense of fulfilment
- provides a supportive environment with constructive relationships
- gives employees the voice and choice they need to shape their working lives
- is physically and mentally healthy.
Good work should be accessible to all, regardless of personal characteristics or occupation. It is affected by a range of factors, including employment legislation, labour market conditions, HR practices, the quality of people management and by workers themselves. The people profession has a leading role to play in ensuring that work is both productive for the organisation and good for employees. The CIPD Good Work Index gives insights that help individuals, employers and policy makers improve and protect job quality at every level.
Access the report archive
Download previous UK Working Lives survey reports
Working Lives Scotland
Dedicated analysis of job quality and its impact on working lives in Scotland
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