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| Small Business Owners Are Just Plain Happier |
| Tuesday, September 15,2009 09:13 PM |
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An uplifting article in the Wall Street Journal (finally!) citing a study that found that small business owners are happier than people in ten other professions including some that would surprise you - doctors, attorneys, and executives and managers in corporations and government all fall below the small businessman in overall job happiness. The study, by Gallup and Healthways, health-management firm, found that, among other things, being in control of everything from your day to you destiny made all the difference.
...the survey suggests that seeking out enjoyable work and finding a way to do it on your own terms, with some control over both the process and the outcome, is likely for most people to fuel satisfaction and contentment
The study not only shows that doing something that you love, being your own boss, making (and living with) your own decisions, being in control of your own work and schedule can elevate your levels of satisfaction and happiness, it also shows the hit that some tried and true professions have taken in recent years.
The findings likely reflect declining quality-of-life in some professions," Dr. Howard (director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) says. "Rising cost controls in medicine, for example, and mounting pressure to chalk up billable hours in law, have curtailed doctors' and lawyers' flexibility to control their work.
"Where professionals may have had greater freedom 20 or 30 years ago, many are now experiencing loss of control, erosion of satisfaction and increased stress," Dr. Howard says.
Two more findings:
At the bottom of the heap are factory and transportation workers. The reason isn't hard to guess ... "lack of control or participation in decision-making, conflicting or unclear job expectations, and hectic tasks with little inherent meaning." Shocker.
But here's a surprise.
Farmers and other outdoor workers, from farmhands to forestry workers, scored No.?1 among all groups in "emotional health," as measured mainly by the amount of smiling, laughter, enjoyment and happiness they report experiencing the previous day—despite the fact that farmers ranked near the bottom in access to basic needs.
Guess Mom was right after all when she told us to go outside and play!
Read the whole (free) wsj.com article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203917304574414853397450872.html#mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop
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