What Is The Most & Least Satisfying Job In The World? From Teaching To Kitchen Roles — Scientists Explain
Participants were surveyed on various elements of their lives, including career details, income, personality, and overall contentment
A study conducted by researchers has unveiled a fascinating look into job satisfaction around the world. Using data gathered from the Estonian Biobank, the team from the University of Tartu in Estonia examined information from nearly 59,000 individuals across 263 different professions to determine which jobs bring the most fulfilment and which ones leave people feeling least satisfied.
Participants were surveyed on various elements of their lives, including career details, income, personality, and overall contentment, as per NewScientist. Surprisingly, researchers found that high salaries and job prestige had little correlation with job satisfaction.
List Of Most Satisfying Jobs
The analysis found that people in clergy roles, healthcare professions, and creative writing tended to report the highest levels of workplace fulfilment. These careers appeared to offer individuals a greater sense of purpose and accomplishment.
Even roles like psychologist, special-needs teacher, sheet-metal worker, and ship engineer ranked highly when it came to overall job satisfaction, suggesting that a wide range of professions can bring meaningful fulfilment regardless of status or pay.
"Jobs with a higher sense of achievement are associated with higher satisfaction, and even lower-prestige jobs can be quite fulfilling," explained study author Katlin Anni.
Least Satisfying Jobs
Those working in kitchen roles, transport, storage, manufacturing, and sales positions expressed significantly lower levels of satisfaction. Additional low-ranking jobs included security guards, waiters, mail carriers, carpenters, and chemical engineers.
Anni noted that excessive structure and responsibility in some roles may contribute to job dissatisfaction. "I was expecting the job prestige to be more associated with satisfaction, but there was only a slight correlation," she said.
She added that autonomy could be a major factor: "This could explain why being self-employed is rated highly, because these people have the independence or opportunity to regulate their work days.”
While the findings offer valuable insights into what makes work fulfilling, Anni cautioned against overgeneralization. "General patterns highlighted in the study are probably relevant across the globe. However, caution should be taken about generalising the findings because there might be cultural norms in Estonia that influence how people experience their jobs,” she concluded.
The study challenges traditional assumptions about job prestige and income, pointing instead to personal fulfilment and autonomy as the true drivers of satisfaction at work.
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