Positive findings:
job satisfaction in the lab higher than expected

The laboratory certainly appears to be a workplace that can retain employees for the duration of their professional lives. According to the 2024 survey, a total of 67 percent of all respondents are happy with their daily working life in the laboratory (“somewhat happy” or “happy”). Satisfaction in this sector is on a par with the previous year (69 percent). According to the survey, people aged 26 to 35 and the over-55 age group are the happiest with their day-to-day working lives. 71 percent of both age groups reported being either “somewhat happy” or “happy”. On the other hand, 20 percent of respondents aged between 46 and 55 reported being “somewhat unhappy”. 

The Starlab GmbH International survey asked respondents to rate both their satisfaction with their day-to-day working lives and their overall job satisfaction. 74 percent of all respondents and 77 per cent of German respondents reported being happy with their job. “These figures show not only how much the scientists enjoy their day-to-day work, but also how much they identify with their chosen profession. Many scientists perceive their job as fulfilling a meaningful purpose for society and thus for their own lives as well. In view of the shortage of skilled labour in the STEM sector, the industry must endeavour to showcase the attractiveness of the profession,” asserts Ambos. 

There are small differences between the individual age groups: respondents aged between 36 and 45 are the happiest at 81 percent, closely followed by the over 55s at 79 percent. The 46 to 55 age group brought up the rear, with only 69 percent indicating that they were happy. Furthermore, the 46 to 55 age group had the largest percentage of respondents who were somewhat unhappy (11 percent). This is the least happy age group – both in their day-to-day working life and in their profession. 

Starlab first began monitoring trends in the laboratory sector in 2021. Three years after the first survey, Starlab customers were once again invited to complete a questionnaire via a newsletter sent out in January 2024. A total of 351 customers from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Austria took part in the survey. 37 percent of them were laboratory technicians, 24 percent were laboratory managers, 8 percent were postdoctoral researchers, doctoral students or principal investigators, 16 percent were lab workers working in other areas, and 5 percent worked in purchasing.