Why the Happiest Workers Work for the Government
In these days of recession, it is hard to find anyone who is really happy with his or her job. Even if it is well-paid and enjoyable, most people will find themselves worrying about whether their pay will increase along with the cost of living, or whether they will even have a job to go to in the future. Nevertheless, according to a survey by CareerBliss, the results of which were published in anMSNBC article, government workers are the happiest of everyone, even though there are still aspects of the job that bother them.
The survey was based on 43,000 employee reviews from all over the US. They were asked to look at nine different factors and rate on a five-point scale how important it was to their overall happiness. These factors included work environment, working relationships, the tasks they had to do, compensation and resources. As a result, government workers came out on top with an overall score of 4.07.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that they were happy with every aspect of their job. Growth opportunities, company culture and compensation were found to be the factors with which they were most dissatisfied, but compared with other industries, they were found to be relatively satisfied. Education was the industry with the next highest score recorded: 4.06.
Other industries fared less well. Agriculture and mining were in bottom place with a score of 3.76. The software and Internet industry tied for second from last along with the non-profit sector, followed by media and entertainment and the retail industry with a score of 3.85.
The results are perhaps not as surprising as some will think. Bureaucracy and slow processes mean that government bodies work slowly and so change rarely happens overnight, whereas market-led industries are likely to react to change much more quickly. The fact that their jobs are largely involved with helping people may also be a factor. Another consideration is that everyone needs and relies on the government and the education sector whether they like it or not and although compensation may not be high, job security is therefore much higher than it is in other industries. An analysis byUSA Today, published in July 2011, reported that many federal workers were more likely to die than be laid off or lose their job for some other reason.
That job dissatisfaction is high in the mining and agriculture industries is also no surprise; skills learned in that type of job are less likely to be transferrable than in other jobs and, as job security is low anyway, the worry about finding another job is high. Software and Internet, retail and media are obviously very much linked to the market situation so, when people have less disposable money, they are bound to be affected.
As theMNSBC articlestates, it is perhaps more surprising that workers in non-profit organisations are dissatisfied, but again, in the current market situation, funding is an issue and cuts are being made across the board.
The survey shows what everyone knows anyway; that the current job situation is poor and that even loyalty and hard work cannot ensure that people feel secure in their jobs. If there is some crumb of comfort to be taken away, it is that many people are in the same position and that, eventually, the situation has to improve. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a job that is more secure than the rest, turn to the government or education.
