The people who are happiest at work are gardeners and florists followed by hairdressers and plumbers according to The City and Guilds Career Happiness Index 2012 which finds that some of the unhappiest people are those in office based and managerial work including bankers, IT and HR professionals.

I was recently asked to comment on the findings by a hairdressing magazine and this has led to a number of interesting conversations with leaders in organisations about why they think hairdressers are some of the happiest people at work….. And this is what we have come up with:

Relationship, hairdressers get to build a big relationship with their clients over time – in which there is respect, openness and trust

Recognition, hairdressers get immediate recognition and acknowledgement for having made a difference to someone, for having done a good job in helping them feel good about themselves and this has them feel good about themselves, it’s a win:win

Reward, many hairdressers get a tip for a job well done on top of their salary, again extra recognition having them feel appreciated and valued for having made a positive difference

Recommendation, if they do a good job then they get recommended immediately to other people, usually friends and family of the client

Real, the work is real and meaningful – they enjoy helping people to transform themselves, to feel more confident in and better about themselves

Leadership nudge: Who can you help to be their best more of the time through building a bigger relationships with them this week? What is the extra recognition and reward you can give to someone other than a tip?!

By Anni Townend

Learn more about the author of this article, Anni Townend