Happiness is...

Wednesday, 4th June 2008 15:10 - by Resident IFA

…being a female Beauty Therapist over 60 years old from the North-East! At least this is the case according to the UK’s happiest worker profile in the City & Guilds 5th Annual Happiness Index, which measures job satisfaction (Sample: 1,000 employees across 20 professions). This particularly interested me as I am interviewing for a new P.A. on Monday. The role of Secretary/Receptionist is 9th-equal in the Index, at least giving me a fair chance of recruiting a potentially happy soul to have around the office! The survey indicated that being interested in the work you do, not the salary, is the key to job satisfaction. To back this up, it was found that 57% of us have stayed with our current employer as a result of having a genuine interest in our occupation, whilst only 44% stay due to the salary received. Professor Cary Cooper of Lancaster University helped analyse the findings. His key concern was how the employment packages offered are still stuck in the dark ages, with 43% of firms offering bonus structures, but only 20% offering flexible working arrangements. I condone this opinion whole-heartedly, being careful to take note of my work-life balance more and more as time passes, trying to apply the same logic to the role of anyone who works for me. Professor Cooper provides 5 clear recommendations for employers: 1. Develop reward and recognition policies not based on money (flexible working should be paramount). 2. Provide employees with a varied workload. Stimulation is the key to happiness and continued interest. 3. Develop strong management skills utilising praise and reward to motivate staff. 4. Give employees a sense of freedom and autonomy in carrying out their roles (i.e. independent project work). 5. Remove any tendencies towards a long hours culture. This ruins productivity, happiness, and work-life balance. Wise words indeed, but who are the unhappiest workers? The Index suggests Bankers/Financiers (Makes sense in light of the current financial climate!), IT Specialists, Nurses, and Builders are the most unfulfilled workers. Coming full circle from how I began the article, I am really glad I do not fit the identikit of the UK’s unhappiest worker profile – a Northern Irish male Builder in his 40’s…poor so-and-so! Until next time…