SINGAPORE — A new national workplace happiness survey found that employees here could be happier, after they chalked up a score of 59 out of 100 on the overall workplace happiness index.

The score falls within the band of ‘Under Happy’ (51 to 67) which is between ‘Unhappy’ (0 to 50) and ‘Happy’ (68 to 100).

The survey, conceived by the Singapore Human Resources Institute and consulting firm Align Group, sought to use scientific measures to create the first national benchmark on happiness at the workplace.

It qualified workplace happiness through 28 factors, sorted into four categories — satisfaction, alignment, engagement and well-being.

The survey also found that happiness is related to one’s personal perception of their job and their experience at work. This meant that the ability of the company in promoting pride, positive emotions, sense of achievement and improving its culture and role fit would influence how happy its employees might feel.

Survey findings also showed that workplace happiness drivers are not universal. Different groups of employees would relate more to certain happiness drivers. For instance, women workers preferred a fair and inclusive workplace, and members of Generation Y favoured positive emotions at work.

Over 5,000 respondents took part in the survey, conducted between April and August this year.