It is very British to maintain a stiff upper lip and not to be particularly happy and exuberant about anything. Even a World Cup win is more about controlling the lads than celebrating the victory.

So it should be a matter of surprise that the UK comes in quite high on overall satisfaction levels in a recent survey on What Workers Want: A Worldwide Study of Attitudes to Work and Work-Life Balance by market research agency FDS International. The UK comes in at no. 6, much ahead of the US and several other countries (see table below ).

Although the survey claims to be “worldwide,” India has been excluded. So comparisons and conclusions relevant to this country must be of a general nature. “If you ask me, I would say that India would feature near the top,” says Mumbai-based HR consultant D. Singh. “My experience is that Indian workers are very happy with their lot until instigated by outsiders.”

Singh gives the example of British trade union leaders who have been visiting the country and targeting employees in the IT and BPO sectors. These panjandrums, who have been welcomed by local union bosses, contend that Indian IT workers should demand the same wages that UK technology workers get. If that happens, India will lose its price edge and the BPO sector will have to compete on quality alone. It can. But that will take time.

Getting back to the survey, it throws up interesting findings. First, and this is equally relevant to all countries, are the parameters that predict overall job satisfaction. These, in order of importance, are: the opportunity to do an interesting job; recognition for performance; balance between private life and work life; prospects of advancement; job security; and salary.

“I’d accept this for the Indian environment too, particularly for the young workforce,” says Singh. “But work-life balance could come much lower in the list. In India, too many people still feel that work is an end in itself.”

The other issue that emerges from the survey is that you don’t necessarily come out smelling of roses even if you are amongst the most generous. The survey finding that has hit the headlines is that French workers are the grumpiest. On the overall “whinginess” rank, France is on top, with the UK and Sweden in joint-second place and the US in fourth. So, somewhat contradictorily, it is possible to be satisfied, yet grumble at the same time.

The two parameters used to arrive at a “whinginess” score are pay (actual income relative to the cost of living) and working hours (actual average weekly working hours). The US, where workers enjoy the highest pay, tops the pay “whinge” rank. In working hours, Portugal leads. The UK is on top on another “whinge” parameter — the number of holidays.

All this makes for interesting reading. But HR professionals have begun juxtaposing it with another study. According to a survey by Jing Zhou, associate professor of management at Rice University, you need a certain amount of dissatisfaction to get the best out of your workers. According to her, creative solutions only emerge if you perceive there is a problem. A happy worker can take a lot of irritation in his stride.

So where does this leave the Indian HR practitioner, who is being increasingly required to benchmark himself against global norms these days? “It gives him an escape route,” says Singh. “Over the past few years, there has been a focus on employee satisfaction. Now is the time to add to the irritation quotient.”

So if you get an unexpected clip on the ear from your boss tomorrow, you know who and what to blame.

HAPPY HOMES

Employee morale index

The Netherlands 64

Ireland 62

Thailand 62

Switzerland 59

Denmark 54

UK 53

Norway 52

France 50

China 50

Brazil 50

Spain 50

Romania 50

Russia 49

Greece 49

Sweden 48

USA 46

Portugal 45

Canada 45

Poland 44

Korea 43

Source: FDS survey ‘What workers want’