What are the ‘unhappiest jobs’ in the world? 85-year-old Harvard study discovers the secret to job satisfaction

What are the ‘unhappiest’ jobs in the world?

If you are thinking of entry-level positions or low-paying jobs, think again.

According to an 85-year-old study from Harvard University, the unhappiest jobs are most often the loneliest ones, where employees are bereft of working with a team. Since 1938, the team has interviewed more than 700 participants from all over the world and quizzed them about their work lives.

Robert Waldinger (MD) a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the director of the Harvard Study Of Adult Development, one of the longest-running studies on happiness and work-life balance explained one of the oldest secrets of work-life satisfaction and confirmed what we have known all along - teamwork is necessary not just for productivity, but for employee morale as well.

No Man Is An Island
The study found that jobs that require little to no human interaction and don’t offer opportunities for interacting with peers have the most miserable employees. “If you are more connected to people, you feel more satisfied with your job, and do better work,” revealed Waldinger.

Workplace Loneliness Is More Common Than You Think
Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, remote work has become more and more prevalent, especially in sectors such as tech, food delivery, and online retail services, where workers often work in complete isolation from colleagues.

Loneliness A Concern In Client-Facing Jobs
Remote workers are not the only group vulnerable to debilitating loneliness on the job. Customer service job roles where employees have to spend all their time dealing with angry clients and little opportunity to mingle with peers can often become depressed from the stress.

Prioritize On Cultivating Relationships At The Workplace
Developing bonds with your teammates can go a long way in helping you work smarter and also boost your morale.

• Try to find co-workers that share your interests. Form a group or club with them such as a book club or gaming community.
• If possible try to find workplaces where communicating with your teammates on non-work related subjects is allowed. If your manager or work culture values teamwork this becomes much easier. “Positive relationships at work, lead to lower stress levels and fewer days when we come home upset,” explains Waldinger.