Everything’s Coming Up Roses for Florists

City & Guilds launches its Career Happiness Index 2012

13 November 2012 /

City & Guilds has released the Career Happiness Index 2012, which offers broad insights into what people in the UK consider to be the most important factors contributing to their happiness at work.

Of the 2,200 workers surveyed, gardeners and florists topped the list of happiest workers, followed by hairdressers and plumbers. Meanwhile, bankers, IT professionals and HR workers are the least happy.

Overall, the Career Happiness Index shows that people in vocationally-trained and skills-based jobs, such as hairdressers, gardeners, plumbers and electricians, were happiest - 65% compared to 58% of those in largely academically trained, office-based jobs.

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The report also looks at employment status and personal circumstances in order to understand how these can affect a person's well-being and satisfaction levels at work. It showed that:

Self-employed people are overwhelmingly happier at work (85%).

68% of those in vocationally-trained, skills-based jobs saying they were proud of their work, compared to 62% of those in academically-trained, office-based jobs.

Nick Bradley, Group Director at City & Guilds comments: "It’s particularly interesting to see that those who have taken the vocational route are happiest and feel the most pride in their work; there's certainly something to be said from learning specific skills and working your way up the career ladder.”

The findings have been released to mark The Skills Show 2012, which will take place at the Birmingham NEC from 15 – 17 November. The event, for which City & Guilds is Premier Sponsor, will help young people choose the most satisfying career path for them – something that is hugely important given that the research shows over a fifth (21%) of 18-34 year olds do not feel they have the opportunity to use their skills everyday.

Infographic PDFs for download:

Careers Happiness Index 2012 - short form (PDF, 1.3MB)

Careers Happiness Index 2012 - long form (PDF, 2.8MB)

A year on ...

We've released Career Happiness Index: Millenials Edition (September 2013) - read about the findings

See our Career Happiness Index 2013 infographic