Survey: Clergy and Firefighters Have Greatest Job Satisfaction

April 18, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - More than a third of workers say they are very happy with their jobs, with clergy and firefighters having the highest degree of job-satisfaction, according to a recent job satisfaction survey.

The General Social Survey (GSS) at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that of about 27,000 respondents, nearly half (47%) were satisfied with their jobs.

According to the survey, clergy, firefighters, transportation ticket and reservation agents, housekeepers and butlers and hardware/building supplies salespeople ranked as the top five jobs where workers reported the highest degree of happiness.

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According to survey director Tom Smith, the “least satisfying dozen jobs are mostly low-skill, manual and service occupations, especially involving customer service and food/beverage preparation and serving.”

The top five most gratifying jobs and the percentage of subjects who said they were very satisfied included:

  • Clergy, 87%
  • Firefighters, 80%
  • Physical therapists, 78%
  • Authors, 74%
  • Special education teachers, 70%.

The five least gratifying jobs, where few participants reported being very satisfied were:

  • Laborers, except construction, 21%
  • Apparel clothing salespersons, 24%
  • Handpackers and packagers, 24%
  • Food preparers, 24%
  • Roofers, 25%.

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