What professions lead to the unhappiest people? It may have shocked you to discover that Ministers of religion are the happiest profession (see blog on Tuesday). But if the biggest driver for happiness and job satisfaction is interaction with people, it should be less surprising to see the bottom five. The interesting thing here is that they are, in general, much higher paid, and have a much higher social status, but they don't deliver the goods in terms of happiness:
5. Technical Specialist
4. Senior Web Developer
3. Product Manager
2. Director of Sales and Marketing: I guess the issue here is that social interaction in sales and marketing is dominated by wanting to get the sale. And of course, the pressure of meeting those targets.
1. Director of Information Technology: often high earning, but the pressure point for anything that goes wrong. People complain and are frustrated when it doesn't work - but do not appreciate how difficult it is to make it work properly.
At TGBC, Tom Seidler occupies the IT Director role. When I asked him how satisfied he was with his job his trend-bucking response was: "Very! I love the people I work with, and the job is challenging, but the fruit and the rewards are eternal." James Burstow and Dean Faulkner, who work together in Sales and Marketing agree. "There can be a brooding sense that when it goes wrong, it's all your fault, but I love what I do here, and find it extremely satisfying," said James. Dean is the person you are most likely to hear laughing about the office. Perhaps the difference in "selling" Christian books and resources is that it is more about helping people discover materials that will really help them, rather than encouraging people to buy stuff they do not really want.
Case closed. It's not so much the job, as the sense of how worthwhile it is that really counts.
And if you are struggling with work, call James or Dean for a happy conversation about a new books that might help you see the value in what you do: Crazy Busy.
Tim Thornborough founded The Good Book Company in 1991. Today his roles include Chairing The Good Book Company Trust and working with the Rights team to grow TGBC's international reach. He is the author of The Very Best Bible Stories series and has contributed to many books published by TGBC and others. Tim is married to Kathy, and they have three adult daughters.
