EMPLOYEES in small businesses are the most satisfied at work.

That is the finding in the What Workers Want survey of 2,500 employees, published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). It comes as little surprise to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

Ken Moon, chairman of the FSB's Wessex region said: "We are supportive of the findings of this TUC survey, though the results do not surprise us.

"Small business owners certainly value their staff and are much closer to them than employers of large companies.

"They understand that staff are a great asset and are treated as such, resulting in a committed and loyal work force that has a say in how the organisation is run.

"The smallest business has a bigger advantage. In terms of the way they treat their staff; small businesses consistently out-perform their bigger competitors. The figures really do speak for themselves," added Mr Moon.

The survey showed that employees in small firms also felt most engaged by their employer and reported the most freedom to choose their working patterns.

There were far fewer reports of bullying in small businesses, lower stress levels and less complaints about long working hours. As well as the highest job satisfaction rate (21 per cent strongly agreeing and 41 per cent tending to agree), small business employees were also the most committed (64 per cent) and loyal (58 per cent) to their organisations.

The TUC report, which was run by YouGov, also highlighted the low morale among one in four of the UK's workforce.