A happy place for a job…
A new study has revealed that London is home to the UK’s best-rated bosses, with employees in the capital giving their managers the highest satisfaction scores nationwide, whilst Aberdeen is the Scottish area with the best workplaces.
Aberdeen beats out Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow for the Scottish area with the best workplaces. This comes as a result of 28.5% of reviews for business in the area averaging at five stars, whilst only 6.8% of reviews averaging at 1 star, highlighting the area as a leading city for happier employees.
London topped the rankings with the best ratio of five star ratings compared to 1 star ratings, based on an average rating of 3.79 out of 5 stars and 30.49% of reviews awarding the maximum 5-star rating. Lincoln secured second place with the area standing out for having the lowest percentage of negative reviews, with just 3.24% of employees giving their bosses and workplaces a 1-star rating.
Northampton ranked third, boasting the highest percentage of 5-star reviews at 32.24% – indicating that nearly a third of employees in the city rate their bosses extremely highly.
Chris Garner, Managing Director at Avensure:
“These findings highlight significant regional variations in management quality across the UK. The data shows that employees in London and Lincoln are particularly satisfied with their bosses, which creates more productive and positive working environments.
“Good management makes a substantial difference to workplace culture and employee retention. Areas with higher boss ratings typically see lower staff turnover rates and better overall company performance.”
The research by Avensure, a provider of outsourced HR services, analysed Glassdoor reviews from employees across 59 UK areas to determine where workers are most satisfied with their management.
Table showing the top 25 UK cities with the best bosses according to employee ratings:
| City |
Average Rating for businesses in the area on Glassdoor |
Average amount of 5 star reviews as a percentage |
Average amount of 1 star reviews as a percentage |
Rank |
| London |
3.79 |
30.49% |
5.29% |
1 |
| Lincoln |
3.74 |
28.38% |
3.24% |
2 |
| Northampton |
3.71 |
32.24% |
7.43% |
3 |
| Cambridge |
3.73 |
31.45% |
7.99% |
4 |
| Aberdeen |
3.70 |
28.50% |
6.80% |
5 |
| Reading |
3.67 |
28.52% |
6.75% |
6 |
| Southampton |
3.67 |
28.92% |
7.31% |
7 |
| York |
3.69 |
30.76% |
8.37% |
8 |
| Manchester |
3.68 |
31.24% |
8.64% |
9 |
| Exeter |
3.67 |
30.77% |
7.81% |
10 |
| Edinburgh |
3.67 |
27.10% |
6.33% |
11 |
| Colchester |
3.65 |
28.42% |
6.83% |
12 |
| Leicester |
3.66 |
29.56% |
8.03% |
13 |
| Luton |
3.65 |
31.36% |
9.44% |
14 |
| Blackpool |
3.62 |
24.15% |
4.57% |
15 |
| Portsmouth |
3.64 |
25.86% |
6.27% |
16 |
| Birmingham |
3.63 |
28.59% |
8.55% |
17 |
| Derby |
3.62 |
28.21% |
7.40% |
18 |
| Bristol |
3.64 |
27.16% |
7.67% |
19 |
| High Wycombe |
3.67 |
22.86% |
6.03% |
20 |
| Leeds |
3.63 |
27.64% |
7.60% |
21 |
| Oxford |
3.63 |
25.98% |
7.06% |
22 |
| Cheltenham |
3.61 |
25.42% |
6.66% |
23 |
| Brighton |
3.61 |
26.31% |
7.43% |
24 |
| Southend-on-Sea |
3.51 |
25.18% |
5.05% |
25 |
At the other end of the spectrum, Basildon, with 13.65% of reviews giving bosses only 1 star – the highest negative review percentage in the study.
The south of England dominated the top rankings, with seven of the top ten cities located in the region. This pattern indicates potentially stronger management practices in southern companies compared to other parts of the country.
Chris Garner:
“The research shows clear patterns in workplace satisfaction across the UK. Areas with better-rated bosses tend to create more supportive environments where employees feel valued and heard.
“For employees looking to change jobs, these rankings might offer valuable insights into where they might find more positive management experiences. Equally, companies in lower-ranked cities should consider what improvements could be made to management training and workplace culture.”
