Smile...How To Be Happy At Work [Infographic]

Are you happy at work? Last year around this time, I read on Forbes that 70% of people hate their jobs. I don’t know if that number has gone up or down in the past 12 months, but 70% is a lot. It’s sad really because we spend more time at work these days than we do at home. We are around our coworkers more hours of the day than we are around our own families, and who knows, maybe that contributes to the disdain a lot of people feel towards their jobs.

The question is – what exactly makes us happy at work? Would simply having a job we love do the trick? Does it take more than that? Is it all about making a lot of money? This infographic called The Key To Happiness At Work by City & Guilds shines a little light on this topic. They surveyed 2,197 workers in the UK to determine what factors most affect happiness at work. It also lists the professions where people are most likely to be happy at work.

The most interesting thing about this is that it’s not about the money. Getting along with colleagues, doing something that feels worthwhile and having control over certain tasks and the workload are huge contributing factors when it comes to being happy at work. If you aren’t sure if you are happy, you can read 10 Signs You Are Truly Happy to find out, although something like that seems a bit obvious. It’s also interesting to note that young people who are self-employed and anyone who is over the age of 56 seem to be happier. Also, according to this, bankers are the least happy and florists/gardeners are the most happy. Too bad I’m allergic to grass. Are you happy at work? What do you do to encourage your own happiness?