Which Industries Are the HAPPIEST?
Have you ever heard of The American Time Use Survey? We hadn’t either until we came across an article from Flowing Data detailing some key takeaways from the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey. So which industries are evaluated as the happiest? Least happy?
Tune in this week as Wayne again explores the concept and importance of workplace happiness. Can you guess how construction fared in the survey? You might be surprised! Please let us know in the comments your theories about why happy industries say they’re happy and why the lowest scoring industries report widespread dissatisfaction.
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Hi, this is Wayne Rivers at FBI, where We Build Better Contractors.
This week I want to talk about which industries are the happiest. This came from a website called Flowing Data, and it
details some of the American time use survey, which is a survey done every other year I think by the US Department of
Labor.
So, what about this is important to you? I mean, we're in the construction game, why do we care which industries are the
happiest? Well, I think you'll be interested in this.
We spend a lot of time at work, and if you're not happy at work, which is a third, maybe more than a half, maybe a third
to two thirds of your waking hours, if your job doesn't inspire positive feelings you're not going to be at your best. You're
not going to be at best at your home and your community, with your family, whatever. Some jobs just suck the life out of
you. So which industries are the least happy?
So, the survey broke it down on a spectrum. On one end was stress and sadness, on the other end was happiness and
meaning. And so, all the industries showed up somewhere on this spectrum. Not all industries fared very well, so let me
count them down, the five least happy industries according to the American Time Use Survey.
All right, number five, architects and engineers. That surprised me. I'd like to know in the comment section why would
you think that architects and engineers as an industry, I mean the engineers that I know seem like they're pretty happy
folks. But anyway, I'd like to know what your opinions are. Why do they show up among the lowest of the industries in
happiness?
The fourth, business operations. I can see that I suppose.
Number three, healthcare, tremendous pressure. I mean literally life or death every day.
Number two, education. We've had a couple jobs open here at FBI in the last few months, and we've had a lot of teachers
applying for these jobs. And when I ask why they get into some of these things that may cause them to be number two.
Number one, what's the least happy industry? The legal industry. Again, I think we can sort of identify with that.
Tremendous pressure, tremendous deadlines, and in law so often you have a winner and a loser, and nobody likes to be
on that side. In business it's win, win. When you're talking about legal matters it's often win lose.
Okay, which industry scored the highest? This is where you'll be interested.
Number five, cleaning.
Number four, maintenance.
Number five, farming and fishing.
Number two, transportation.
And number one, construction. Now, why is that?
If you contrast the lowest happiness, most stress and sadness industries with the top five, the top scoring groups, you've
got tangible things, construction, farming, et cetera, tangible things versus intangible things. If you're in the part of the
legal... I'm sorry, if you're part of the education system or the healthcare system it's hard to see your impact on people
day to day. If you're building structures and roads and things like that, boy, you can see your impact for 40 years as you
drive down that highway or cross that bridge, or whatever it happens to be. So, the lowest five and the top five.
So I'd like to... My theory is the tangibility causes the top five industries to rise. I'd like to know what your theory is. I don't
know if that's right or not, it might be a crazy idea, but let's hear what your theories are in the comment section. And don't
forget about Boot Camp. We've got our November class coming up in Raleigh in November, and then next year we've got
Dallas, February 22nd and 23rd, 2024, so go ahead and get your high potential folks enrolled for Boot Camp, November this
year and February of next.
This is Wayne Rivers at FBI, where We Build Better Contractors.