# ¿Quiere ser feliz? Hágase sacerdote, bombero o fisioterapeuta
gratificantes comparten bajo salario y entrega a los demás
AGENCIAS | EL PAÍS - Madrid - 23/11/2011
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Quiere/ser/feliz/Hagase/sacerdote/bombero/fisioterapeuta/elpepusoc/20111123elpepusoc_6/Tes
El trabajo de sacerdote encabeza la lista de los 10 empleos "más
felices" que ha confeccionado tras un estudio el Centro Nacional de
Investigación de Opinión de la Universidad de Chicago y del que se
hace eco la revista Forbes. Casi todas las profesiones consideradas
más gratificantes comparten dos características: poca remuneración
económica y entrega a los demás.
Las 10 profesiones "más felices"
Los 10 trabajos más odiados
La noticia en otros webs
•webs en español
•en otros idiomas
Siguen a los sacerdotes, los bomberos. Un 80% de ellos afirma sentirse
"muy satisfecho" con su tarea, pues implica ayudar a la gente.
Completan el podio los fisioterapeutas, también por su tarea en favor
de los demás, y porque posibilitan la "interacción social".
El cuarto lugar lo ocupan los escritores. Aunque la remuneración que
reciben por sus creaciones suele ser muy baja y en algunos casos hasta
inexistente, la "autonomía" que da el plasmar sobre un papel en blanco
las ideas surgidas de la propia mente genera felicidad, apuntan los
autores del estudio.
El quinto puesto es para los profesores de educación especial. Si a
uno no le mueve solo el dinero -el sueldo anual medio está por debajo
de los 50.000 dólares (casi 37.000 euros)-, puede ser una profesión
muy gratificante.
Les siguen los maestros, pese a los recortes en la enseñanza y la
conflictividad en algunas aulas. Este trabajo, dice el estudio,
continúa atrayendo a jóvenes idealistas, aunque un 50% de los nuevos
profesores abandonan antes de los cinco años de ejercicio.
Ser artista, como escultor o pintor, también reporta una gran
satisfacción, pese a las dificultades para vivir de ello. También ser
psicólogo. Este gremio "puede ser capaz o no de resolver los problemas
de la gente, pero parece que ellos han logrado solucionar los suyos",
señala la investigación.
El 65% de los vendedores de servicios financieros dicen ser felices
con la función que desempeñan, lo que podría deberse, sugiere el
estudio, a que algunos de ellos ganan más de 90.000 dólares al año
(66.500 euros) por una media de 40 horas a la semana en un confortable
ambiente de oficina.
Cierran la lista los operarios de maquinaria pesada, para quienes
manejar excavadoras, grúas o cargas puede ser divertido. Con más
demanda que oferta, y en estos tiempos que corren, se declaran
felices.
Este listado contrasta con los 10 trabajos más odiados, según una
información de la cadena CNBC basada en una encuesta realizada este
año a cientos de miles de trabajadores que cita Forbes, pues son
precisamente los mejor pagados y los que cuentan con un mayor
reconocimiento social. Se trata, de más a menos, de los de director de
tecnología de la información, director de ventas y marketing, product
manager, desarrollador web, técnico especialista, técnico de
electrónica, secretario jurídico, analista de soporte técnico,
maquinista y gerente de marketing.
Las 10 profesiones "más felices"
1. Sacerdote
2. Bombero
3. Fisioterapeuta
4. Escritor
5. Profesor de educación especial
6. Maestro
7. Artista
8. Psicólogo
9. Vendedor de servicios financieros
10. Operario de maquinaria pesada
Los 10 trabajos más odiados
1. Director de Tecnología de la Información
2. Director de Ventas y Marketing
3. Product Manager
4. Desarrollador web
5. Técnico especialista
6. Técnico de electrónica
7. Secretario jurídico
8. Analista de soporte técnico
9. Maquinista
10. Gerente de Marketing
Steve Denning, Contributor
RADICAL MANAGEMENT: Rethinking leadership and innovation
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/09/12/the-ten-happiest-jobs/
Leadership|9/12/2011 @ 10:12PM |185,985 views
The Ten Happiest Jobs
onlyffunI wonder why i can't see other people's comment?Steve Denning,
ContributorDear onlyfunmissleahFunny… my husband is a firefighter and
practically skips to work, and I'm Marketing Associate, on the path to
be a Marketing Manager. While I don't dread g [...]Steve Denning,
ContributorDear missleahbtrineAs a pastor I totally agree and was glad
to see clergy ranked #1.Steve Denning, ContributorDear btrineGill
MHmmm….. Just a random thought…. Maybe these jobs attract naturally
'happy' people'? I mean it may not necessarily be the job itself that
makes for happines [...]Steve Denning, ContributorDear Gill M69
comments, 66 called-out + Comment now Steve Denning, Contributor
Dear Gill M
The Ten Happiest Jobs
In my article on the Ten Most Hated Jobs, there were some surprises.
There are also some surprises in the ten happiest jobs, as reported a
General Social Survey by the National Organization for Research at the
University of Chicago. (I am indebted to Lew Perelman for drawing my
attention to the Christian Science Monitor article.)
1. Clergy: The least worldly are reported to be the happiest of all
2. Firefighters: Eighty percent of firefighters are "very satisfied"
with their jobs, which involve helping people.
3. Physical therapists: Social interaction and helping people
apparently make this job one of the happiest.
4. Authors: For most authors, the pay is ridiculously low or
non-existent, but the autonomy of writing down the contents of your
own mind apparently leads to happiness.
5. Special education teachers: If you don't care about money, a job
as special education teacher might be a happy profession. The annual
salary averages just under $50,000.
6. Teachers: Teachers in general report being happy with their jobs,
despite the current issues with education funding and classroom
conditions. The profession continues to attract young idealists,
although fifty percent of new teachers are gone within five years.
7. Artists: Sculptors and painters report high job satisfaction,
despite the great difficulty in making a living from it.
8. Psychologists: Psychologists may or may not be able to solve other
people's problems, but it seems that they have managed to solve their
own.
9. Financial services sales agents: Sixty-five percent of financial
services sales agents are reported to be happy with their jobs. That
could be because some of them are clearing more than $90,000 dollars a
year on average for a 40-hour work week in a comfortable office
environment.
10. Operating engineers: Playing with giant toys like bulldozers,
front-end loaders, backhoes, scrapers, motor graders, shovels,
derricks, large pumps, and air compressors can be fun. With more jobs
for operating engineers than qualified applicants, operating engineers
report being happy.
In Pictures: 10 Happiest Jobs
It's interesting to compare these jobs with the list of the ten most
hated jobs, which were generally much better paying and have higher
social status. What's striking about the list is that these relatively
high level people are imprisoned in hierarchical bureaucracies. They
see little point in what they are doing. The organizations they work
for don't know where they are going, and as a result, neither do these
people.
1. Director of Information Technology
2. Director of Sales and Marketing
3. Product Manager
4. Senior Web Developer
5. Technical Specialist
6. Electronics Technician
7. Law Clerk
8. Technical Support Analyst
9. CNC Machinist
10. Marketing Manager
The meaningfulness of lives
Why were these jobs with better pay and higher social status less
likely to produce happiness? Todd May writing in the New York Times
argues that "A meaningful life must, in some sense then, feel
worthwhile. The person living the life must be engaged by it. A life
of commitment to causes that are generally defined as worthy — like
feeding and clothing the poor or ministering to the ill — but that do
not move the person participating in them will lack meaningfulness in
this sense. However, for a life to be meaningful, it must also be
worthwhile. Engagement in a life of tiddlywinks does not rise to the
level of a meaningful life, no matter how gripped one might be by the
game."
This is what underlies the difference between the happiest jobs and
the most hated jobs. One set of jobs feels worthwhile, while in the
other jobs, people can't see the point. The problems in the most hated
jobs can't be solved by job redesign or clearer career paths. Instead
the organizations must undertake fundamental change to manage
themselves in a radically different way with a focus on delighting the
customer through continuous innovation and all the consequent changes
that are needed to accomplish that. The result of doing this in firms
like Amazon, Apple and Salesforce.com is happy customers, soaring
profits and workers who can see meaning in their work.