What are the unhappiest jobs in the world? Or rather, what makes a person unhappy at work? The answer to these questions was discovered by an 85-year-old study from Harvard University.
According to the study, jobs that require little human interaction and don't offer opportunities to build meaningful relationships with co-workers are deemed the unhappiest. Since 1938, the team has interviewed more than 700 participants from all over the world and quizzed them about their work lives. They were asked detailed questions about their lives every two years.
Loneliness at workplace
The study also talked about loneliness in the workplace and listed professions that are isolating. As per the CNBC report, some of the most isolating jobs involve more independent work than interpersonal relationships or require overnight shifts, such as truck driving and night security.
Tech-driven industries, including package and food delivery services, where people often have no co-workers at all, or online retail, where employees on the same warehouse shift might not even know each other's names, are said to be the loneliest. ''Jobs that involve more independent work than interpersonal relationships or require overnight shifts, such as truck driving and night security, also are some of the most isolated ones'', Robert Waldinger added.
Positive relationship effects
Meanwhile, the study also says that the secret to living a happier, healthier and longer life isn't money, professional success, exercise, or a healthy diet. It's positive relationships that keep people happy. "It's a critical social need that should be met in all aspects of our lives. Plus, if you are more connected to people, you feel more satisfied with your job, and do better work,'' Robert Waldinger, MD, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, told CNBC Make It.
Socialising is the key
Even people in more social jobs can feel isolated if they don't have positive and meaningful interactions with others. That's why socialising at work is the key to reducing feelings of loneliness and boosting one's mental health, the study suggested.
Creating small opportunities for social connection at work can be restorative and help alleviate feelings of loneliness and dissatisfaction, the researchers found.
