10 Happiest & Unhappiest Careers

What is the key to happiness in a career? A careful analysis of the data reveals a fairly clear result: the happiest people are the ones with authority. The happiest careers come with creative/directive control and minimize the amount of day-to-day control that others have over you.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index revealed the following information from a survey of nearly 101,000 working adults:

Occupation and overall well-being

1. Business Owner
2. Professional
3. Manager/Executive
4. Farming/Forestry
5. Sales
6. Clerical
7. Construction
8. Installation
9. Service
10. Transportation/Manufacturing

According to a University of Chicago study, here are the most unhappy careers:

Bottom Occupations in Job Satisfaction

10. Waiters/Servers
9. Bartenders
8. Freight, Stock, & Material Handlers
7. Roofers
6. Furniture/Home Furnishing Salespersons
5. Cashiers
4. Apparel Clothing Salespersons
3. Hand Packers and Packagers
2. Food Preparers, Misc.
1. Laborers, Except Construction

Source: The 10 Happiest and 10 Unhappiest Professions

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