Outputs From WIIS 2 

  In Working Order: Health and Wellbeing among Workers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland:

Press Release​​​

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Quality of jobs and working conditions key to worker health and wellbeing – new all-island research, 17, September, 2026

 

Date/embargo details

The quality of people’s jobs and the conditions in which they work play a central role in their health and wellbeing, according to a major new all-island study launched today.

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The research finds that while many workers report positive health and wellbeing, a significant minority experience poorer health and work-related stress. Crucially, the findings show that these outcomes are closely connected to how work is designed, organised and managed.

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The report, In Working Order: Health and Wellbeing among Workers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, is one of the largest assessments of worker health, wellbeing and working conditions to date on the island of Ireland. It was undertaken jointly by Queen’s University Belfast, University College Dublin and the Nevin Economic Research Institute.

 

Among its key findings are:

• A significant minority of workers report poor health and high work-related stress, with both more common in Northern Ireland than the Republic of Ireland (18.4% vs 12.5% for poor health; 17.7% vs 13.2% for work-related stress).

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• Health and wellbeing vary across sectors and groups of workers. Work-related stress is particularly high in Human Health, reaching 25.5% in NI and 19.9% in RoI.

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• Working patterns and demographics also matter, with full-time workers and women reporting higher stress.

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• High job demands (e.g. work intensity and tight deadlines) show the strongest and most consistent associations with work-related stress.

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•  Supportive management practices (including respect, recognition, and support) are consistently associated with increased psychological wellbeing and lower work-related stress.

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• Employee voice, trust, and fairness are associated with more positive health and wellbeing outcomes, highlighting their potential role as protective organisational factors.

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• Difficulty disconnecting from work is common and moderately associated with higher work-related stress, reflecting potential risks associated with “always-on” work cultures.

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• Exposure to bullying, harassment, and workplace violence affects a substantial minority, and is associated with poorer wellbeing and higher stress.

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• Increased job autonomy is associated with more positive self-reported outcomes, particularly psychological wellbeing.

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The report also sets out policy and practice recommendations, including:

• Improve the quality of work and working conditions by managing workload and job demands, strengthening supportive management practices and workplace relationships, enhancing employee voice, and enabling workers to switch off from work.

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• Taking targeted action to address differences across sectors and groups of workers, recognising that experiences of work, health and wellbeing are not shared equally across the workforce.

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• A stronger focus on preventing work-related stress, by addressing the working conditions that can cause or contribute to it, including how work is designed, organised and managed.

 

Lead author Dr Juliet Hassard from Queen’s Business School at Queen’s University Belfast said the findings highlight the importance of job quality and working conditions for worker health and wellbeing, and provide evidence to inform public policy in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. She said:

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“Good work is central to people’s health, wellbeing and quality of life. Our findings show that the conditions in which people work (including workload, management quality, employee voice, fairness and workplace relationships) are closely associated with worker wellbeing. This matters because these are not simply individual issues. They are features of work that organisations and employers can influence. Supporting wellbeing means looking at how jobs are designed, organised and managed, rather than focusing only on individual resilience. Improving job quality and working conditions should, therefore, be central to efforts to create healthier, more sustainable and productive workplaces.”

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The report is part of the larger Working in Ireland Survey (WIIS), a major research project involving nine researchers north and south of the Irish border from academic disciplines spanning economics, psychology, geography, management and employment relations. Led by Professor John Geary of UCD, it is funded via a mixture of public and private grants, including from the UCD Foundation and Irish and Northern Irish governments. ​

 

The findings are based on responses from a representative sample of 4,300 workers across various job types and sectors, on the island of Ireland. The survey fieldwork was conducted by Ipsos B&A on behalf of WIIS between May 2025 - August 2025. 

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• For more information or to request an interview with Dr Juliet Hassard, please contact j.hassard@qub.ac.uk or Queen’s University Communications Officer Una Bradley on u.bradley@qub.ac.uk or +44 (0)7920 088450