A new study has revealed the most and the least satisfying jobs in the world. For the study, researchers studied the data from the Estonian Biobank and analysed about 59,000 people and 263 occupations. They asked participants donating blood for the biobank project to complete a survey that asked about details of their job, salary, personality and their satisfaction with various aspects of life. The scientists from the University of Tartu in Estonia then used the details to identify the jobs that seem to give the most and the least fulfilment.
The researchers found that the jobs that seem to give the most fulfilment include clergy, various medical professions and writing. Jobs that appear to make people least satisfied include working in kitchens, transport, storage and manufacturing, and being a survey interviewer or sales worker, the researchers said, per NewScientist.
In terms of overall satisfaction, being a medical professional, psychologist, special-needs teacher, a sheet-metal worker or a ship engineer rated highly. However, being a security guard, survey interviewer, waiter, sales worker, mail carrier, carpenter, or chemical engineer ranked low on the list.
Researchers said that various factors contributed to satisfaction, but higher income didn't correlate strongly with it, nor did the prestige of a job.
"I was expecting the job prestige to be more associated with satisfaction, but there was only a slight correlation," said study author Katlin Anni.
"Jobs with a higher sense of achievement are associated with higher satisfaction, and even lower-prestige jobs can be quite fulfilling," she added.
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The researcher explained that low-satisfaction jobs often had a stressful factor, for example, having a very structured role with a lot of responsibility, like being a manager. According to Ms Anni, this could explain why being self-employed is rated highly, because these people have the independence or opportunity to regulate their work days.
Ms Anni believes that general patterns highlighted in the study are probably relevant across the globe. However, she added that caution should be taken about generalising the findings because there might be cultural norms in Estonia that influence how people experience their jobs.
