That should not be difficult. After analysing 12,000 diary entries provided by 238 employees, Harvard researchers concluded in 2011 that what seem like mundane work moments can make or break the way someone views their job. 

A “sense of making progress on meaningful work” was found to be the most important factor boosting employee morale, while a seemingly small slip-up often sends happiness levels crashing. Only 5pc of managers acknowledged that a sense of progress was the number one motivator.

The way people relate to their coworkers also has a major impact on workplace happiness. A report published last week by pollster Gallup said staff who are more engaged at work tend to have stronger workplace relationships than those who have mentally checked out.

Companies are fully aware of this correlation. At a City event last week, an art teacher claimed that demand for her team drawing lessons has gone through the roof as businesses scramble for ways to bring people back together. 

But in a warning shot to the HR gurus now racing to host a bonding day, the Gallup research said there are “no quick fixes when it comes to human relationships”. Recognition, as well as feeling heard and cared about, were all more likely to boost morale than “simple team engagement activities”.

These daily links have been a casualty of home working and the pandemic. A large chunk of office workers have now been granted permanent flexibility as the anti-hustle era takes off, but many will have found that the extra time at home has left them lonelier and less content in their jobs. 

The Bank of England’s Catherine Mann has warned that there could be a two-track workplace if more men than women reconnect with colleagues by returning to the office.

The hours of those working from home are not necessarily any shorter, either. Hays, the recruiter, found in a poll over summer that more than half of all staff worked longer hours from home than they did before the pandemic amid pressure to be constantly available. Home working and extra days off may give employees an illusion of having the upper hand, but the reality is often rather different.

Of course, it is good to question old habits. The conversations about working life that are taking place in corporate Britain now are well overdue and already benefiting millions of families. People have been able to move out of cities, reconnect with their children and change careers. Bosses are asking workers what they want and listening.

As they dish out the goods, it is important that both sides remember that job satisfaction is not improved simply by staying at home. Sour relationships will not improve, the job itself doesn’t change and hours do not necessarily shrink. 

Rachel Suff, senior employment adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), argues that there is no point introducing dramatic work-life balance perks while still giving people unmanageable workloads. 

Those who don’t work in offices and have to do their jobs from specific locations – roles often filled by women – are also at risk of being left out of the conversation about improving working life if the focus is solely on home working.

In short, the three in ten Britons who claim to have zero job satisfaction are unlikely to give a different answer next year just because their employer said they can stay at home or go on an extra-long holiday.