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Job satisfaction is the Holy Grail of the professional world. We often think if we could just get that promotion, that raise or that new job, we’d be happy at work. And if we think about the best jobs in the world, we tend to think of high flying corporate jobs that involve high heels or power suits, not manual work that involves protective or hi vis clothing.

Despite the common preconceptions, a study published by City and Guilds on the index of happiness in the workplace found that out of all jobs in the UK, blue-collar workers consider themselves to be the happiest, while white-collar workers are the among the more miserable workers. So, if you’ve still not found job satisfaction in the work place after all the promotions and pay rises, consider losing the high heels and donning a women’s high visibility vest.

The survey, published a few years back in Britain, reported that people who have more hands-on jobs, such as care assistants, plumbers, hairdressers and chefs have a higher level of job satisfaction than office employees such as IT specialists, pharmacists, media workers and lawyers.  Only 4% of media workers and estate agents claimed to be very happy, whereas 40% of care workers felt generally very happy. Over 30% of plumbers and chefs had that elusive happiness factor and experienced high levels of job satisfaction, while only 18% of chartered engineers, 16% of lawyers and 14% of IT workers could claim the same.

Chris Humphries from City and Guilds said it is a misconception that white-collar professionals have the best jobs and are therefore the happiest. The overall statistics showed that over 20% of blue-collar workers are very happy in their jobs, while less than 9% of white collar workers could attest to the same level of happiness.

Generally, people spend almost a third of their lives at work and yet the statistics show that many people claim to get little satisfaction from their jobs. However, according to Humphries there is an increasing trend for people to swap careers and move to something more hands on. “A lot of employees are starting to realise that job satisfaction is more important than any other consideration, including money”, Humphries said when commenting on the survey. From an employer’s point of view, job satisfaction has also been linked to higher motivation and productivity.

This still doesn’t explain why blue-collar workers are generally happier than white-collar workers. One major contributing factor may be the fact that blue-collar workers often follow a vocation instead of a high flying career that promises a huge pay cheque. Other reasons could be that certain blue-collar workers experience lower levels of stress. However, this doesn’t apply across the board as many blue-collar jobs are very dangerous and highly pressurised. Personality types could also play a role: driven office workers are stereotypically ‘serious’ people, whereas typical construction or outdoor workers are ‘up for a laugh’.

While the survey reveals the current job satisfaction levels need to improve, it is not as cut and dried as white-collar work versus blue-collar work. Some people find that the best jobs involve working part-time from home, while others consider high paying jobs the way to go. Whatever your preference, if you’re experiencing low levels of job satisfaction and feel you’re not in the best job, perhaps it’s time for a change.

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