WorkL data sheds light on current employee happiness as BusinessWorld continues search for ‘Best Places to Work’

Since last year, BusinessWorld is on a mission to find the happiest places to work within the country through its Best Places to Work 2025 awards, which are powered through data provided by global employee experience platform WorkL.

Data from WorkL has revealed that the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 has seen varying and sometimes unstable rates of happiness for employees in the Philippines, depending on demographics.

Disabled employees showed dramatic fluctuation during Q1 2025 in terms of their happiness, with volatile scores of 73.7% in January, 83.1% in February, 71.9% in March, and 81.9% in April. This changeability should act as a warning to employers to take action in understanding the needs of employees who are disabled and to make improvements to the workplace. This is in comparison to non-disabled employees, who remain stable at around the 80% happiness score mark.

Meanwhile, gender-based data showed relatively stable engagement levels, with males peaking at 81.2% in April, slightly ahead of females at 79.6%. Notably, female engagement reached its highest point in February at 80.6% before declining slightly, which may suggest a potential need to examine gender-specific workplace issues or evolving employee needs.

For organizational hierarchy, management staff reported consistently high levels of happiness, culminating in 83.7% in April. However, engagement among non-management employees dipped from 78.9% in February to 76.7% in April. This disparity may be an indication that those in non-leadership roles are feeling less connected or valued over time.

Ethnicity-based data showed varying results. Based on WorkL data, engagement among white employees dropped dramatically from 91.7% in February to just 56.4% in April. Conversely, employees identifying as part of “other” ethnic groups led engagement at 88.7%, with mixed ethnic groups also performing well at 82.8%. BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) employees maintained a steady 80.6%, reflecting a more consistent experience.

Age also has a lot to do with employee happiness. Those aged 45–54 recorded the highest engagement at 85.7% in April, while employees aged 55–64 saw a steep decline to 64.7%, down from 79.3% in March. Interestingly, the oldest demographic (65+ years) experienced a modest recovery, increasing from 67.3% in March to 71.4% in April.

Length of tenure influenced happiness as well. Employees who had been with their organizations for over a decade reported consistently high engagement, peaking at 82.5% in March. Shorter-tenure employees, under a year in the company, showed improvement, from 74.9% in January to 78.3% in March. Meanwhile, those with one to five years of service climaxed in February at 81.3%, suggesting that early career development opportunities may be well-received but could benefit from sustained support.

Finally, in terms of sexual orientation, LGBTQ+ employees showed a marked increase in happiness, rising from 71.5% in January to 78.8% in April. This upward trend is a positive sign of increasing inclusion and support. Similarly, heterosexual employees maintained a steady engagement level at 80.6%, showing a generally stable experience.

Registration for BusinessWorld’s ‘Best Places to Work’ extended

Amid these numbers, companies have a chance to show how their workplaces nurture happy work environments by getting listed in BusinessWorld and WorkL’s prestigious Best Places to Work 2025, as the awards are still open for entries from organizations across the Philippines.

Getting in the list will help businesses attract and retain talent, the latter being a global importance currently for businesses.

Companies entering have a chance to understand several organizational marks, including their Flight Risk score, where employers can gauge how likely an employee is to leave the organisation within the next nine months; and Net Promoter Score, which shows how likely an employee is to recommend their organisation as a place to work to friends and family. Participating enterprises can learn of their organisation’s overall engagement score, Confidence in Management indicator, and Diversity & Inclusion Indicator as well.

Aside from these, companies will also understand their Six Steps to Workplace Engagement Scores and have their data benchmarked against global and industry scores.

Businesses opting for the enhanced option will receive Instant Action Planning specifically tailored for their organizations, Action Plans around WorkL’s Six Steps to Workplace Happiness, Heatmaps on all WorkL standard questions, and the ability to filter results by demographics such as age and length of service. BusinessWorld is also offering a free digital subscription to the publication for all organizations that enter.

Entrants to the awards must send a survey to their employees via a personalised link. This survey, developed by behavioural scientists, data analysts, psychologists, business leaders, academics, and other independent parties, features 31 questions centred around WorkL’s widely approved employee engagement theory: Six Steps to Workplace Happiness, which includes Reward and Recognition — factors integral to retaining talent.

To achieve a high overall engagement score, a company must consistently perform well across its Six-Step Framework, encompassing Reward and Recognition, Instilling Pride, Information Sharing, Empowerment, Wellbeing and Job Satisfaction. Each of WorkL’s Six Steps consists of between three and five key elements, which are measured on a 0-10 scale.

The deadline for entry in BusinessWorld’s Best Places to Work is extended to Aug. 1, while the announcement of winners will be in September.

Visit workl.com/business/workplace-awards/ for more information, or go to https://workl.com/business/workplace-awards/businessworld-best-places-to-work-awards-powered-by-workl/ to register.

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