British Voters the Least Likely to Say Work is Important to Them

British voters were less likely to rank work as an important part of their life than those in twenty three other countries included in a recent study. Research from Kings College London and the World Values Survey suggests 73% of Britons view work as important to their lives. This can be compared to 80% of Americans, 84% of Germans, 96% of Iranians and 99% of people in the Philipines.

Although the UK ranks low on the list, this is not a new development - the proportion of those ranking work as important has only declined marginally in recent years. This was 76% in 1990. Just 22% of Britons say work should always come first - lower than all countries bar three (Japan, Canada and Australia).

There is a generational divide in the value placed on work, with baby boomers and the pre-war generation much more likely to say it should always come first. Millennials specifically have become much more likely to say it would be good if people valued work less. However, the extent to which this is particular to this generation is questionable - as older cohorts have previously experienced a similar shift.