Florists find happiness blooming

Florists and beauticians are happier than lawyers and civil servants

Dealing with fingernails, flowers and hair brings happiness at work, according to an annual survey.

The study of 1,300 people revealed that beauticians, florists and hairdressers are among the UK's happiest workers.

At the other end of the scale, lawyers, civil servants and pharmacists are the least cheerful.

The City and Guilds study also suggests that skilled workers are more content with their work-life balance than white collar professionals.

One of the secrets to a happiness appears to be the opportunity to socialise while at work. Florists, beauticians and hairdressers all identify meeting new people and feeling appreciated as key to enjoying their working day.

Welcoming the local congregation obviously has the same effect on many members of the clergy, the highest placed professionals, who came second on this year's City and Guilds Happiness Index.

When asked to rate their happiness on a scale of one to ten, the clergy averaged 9.14, just behind beauticians on 9.20.

Index points up

However, the study did show that sitting behind a desk is not all bad, as both vocational workers and professional workers say they are happier in their jobs than they were a year ago.

The Happiness Index is published annually by City and Guilds, the UK's largest vocational awards body, which hands out over a million vocational qualifications each year to craftsmen and skilled workers.

Keith Brooker of City and Guilds said: "It is great to see that workers in all careers are happier than they were last year.

"Given the amount of time we spend in the workplace, finding a career that we are happy with should be everyone's priority."