Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Working for a Living: Careers that make you Happier!


Do you whistle while you work? Careers that make you happier might have you whistling a happy tune.  But what makes people happy?
Careers come in all sizes and varieties. You may work in a job that does not require special degrees or experience, or you may have gone to school for many years to qualify for your job.
Is money the answer? In a word, no.  We all want a nice paycheck, with enough to meet our needs (and a little bit more… chocolate isn’t free, after all) but at the end of your day, money has less to do with actual job happiness than most people assume.
In statistical surveys, here are the factors that most often influence career happiness.  Which of these does your current career offer?

Top Factors That Increase Happiness in Your Job
  • Non-traditional office environment.  Jobs that allow you to work in places other than a traditional corporate type office with desks and cubes rate much higher on the happiest careers scale.
  • Interaction with people.  Even if you don’t consider yourself a traditional “people person” most of the happiest careers often give a lot of interaction with others.
  • No “career ladder” to climb.  People who work in a corporate environment that is based on climbing that old ladder to success are often the least happy in their jobs, particularly if their advancement rests in the subjective opinions of others who rate and review them vs. their own actual achievement.
  • Helping others.  Careers that give you the satisfaction of helping others – or even that just focus on others so your attention is on them rather than dwelling on your own issues - often rank high on the happiness scale.
  • Control over your day.  Working at something in which you control more aspects of your day gives higher satisfaction.

So just what are some of the careers that rank high in making people happier?
  • Doctors, nurses, and dentists.  These are all higher paying careers that require a lot of education and certifications but all of them also fit most of the factors for happiness in your job.  Added bonus? Career demand and higher paychecks for most of these jobs. For nurses, some of the happiest are operating room nurses.
  • Hairdressers and Beauty Professionals.  These careers allow you to work in various environments, with people, and allow a flexible control to your workday and hours.  They also offer a wide range of pay.
  • Childcare workers.  You have to love kids, obviously, but if you do, this allows you to focus on them in a fun environment.
  • Creative careers.  Writers, artists, and other people who have particular creative skills can often freelance from home in their pajamas while doing something they love. Pitfalls here include finding personal and work balance since you often do them both in the same space, and regular paychecks to keep your, “I’ve paid the rent this month” feelings happy as well!
  • Plumbers & Electricians.  You need training and specific skills, but these careers are in non-traditional offices and give you different people to interact with daily along with the mental stimulation of finding and fixing problems for others.
Careers that often have low levels of happiness? Administrative and secretarial staff, telephone customer service, inside sales representatives, and other jobs that require you to work in a traditional office for set hours at a desk and face job performance evaluations that determine advancement.

Happiness is in the eye of the beholder… no matter what your job is, what do you do to help yourself be happier?
  • Be healthy & happy.  Eat well, exercise, get regular sleep and do things that are fun with friends and family. Keeping the non-work you happy and healthy can spill over into your work life too.
  • Work to live – don’t live to work.  Keep work in perspective and don’t let it overbalance the rest of your world.
  • See the positive, and be positive!  All jobs and careers have good and bad points; know the good ones and focus on those, fix what you can about the bad ones and let the rest go.
  • Make a change.  If you are truly unhappy, evaluate your options for a change. It might take a while – schooling, training, waiting for a better job economy – but if you have a goal and a plan, it will help you feel more positive in the interim.

We all spend a lot of hours doing “work” so being happy and fulfilled while doing it can make your whole life more whistle-worthy!

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photo credit: deadstar 2.1 via photopin cc

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