When you look at any list of the Best Companies to Work for in India, it always seems chock-a-block with the subsidiaries of multinationals (MNCs) and new generation companies. That is inevitable. New companies — particularly in the IT and BPO (business process outsourcing) sectors — have to offer a lot more to attract talent. And MNCs have a long tradition of paying better than Indian companies.

But if you think that employees are happiest in such organisations, you are mistaken. Actually, most of them are sacrificing happiness for material benefits.

Ask the young man who is tipped to be CEO some day. Some years ago, he abandoned his musical ambitions. (He was part of a band in college.) “I’d love to be back there. But you can’t have it all.” The question of taking up a musical career didn’t merit a thought. Society would sneer.

Yet if you look at the happiest professions, you wouldn’t find the executive types anywhere near the top. According to a survey in the US, the three happiest professions are the clergy, fire fighters and physical therapists.

There are no similar studies in India, but one suspects that the findings would be very different. In the West, the clergy has a larger role than the priesthood in India. In the US survey, the professions that are on top are those that involve caregiving. Here, many of these professions, physical therapists, for instance, are poorly paid. Until the inner man is taken care of, you can’t think of self-actualisation.

What are the worst professions in the survey? Right at the bottom are labourers (except construction workers), apparel clothing salespersons, and hand-packers and packagers. Labourers one can understand. The apparel salesperson is also obvious: who would want to say pretty things to fat women who are trying to get into dresses that are two sizes too small? And the rest, cooks, waiters, bartenders, are dead-end careers.

But job satisfaction should be a priority with company managements. According to a recent survey by Deloitte & Touche, job dissatisfaction is a prime cause of unethical behaviour in the workplace.

In India, there is reason to believe that satisfaction levels are coming down, as the confidence level amongst jobseekers increases and quality of life becomes an issue. According to a WorkAsia study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a global human capital consulting firm, workers in India rate their environment, teamwork and other aspects of their jobs more favourably than workers in other Asia-Pacific countries. As a counterpoint is a more recent CyberMedia Dice-TNS survey which shows that only 29 per cent of jobseeking IT professionals are highly satisfied.

Not everyone can switch professions in the pursuit of happiness. For those who want to make the best of what they have, the US-based Mayo Clinic has this prescription:

*Set challenges. If you are stuck in a job because of lack of education or a downturn in the economy, it doesn’t mean your work has to become drudgery. You can improve your skills, develop your own project or mentor a co-worker.

*Beat the boredom. Take work breaks — read, listen to music, go for a walk. Volunteer for something different.

*Stay positive. Changing your attitude won’t happen overnight. But try and stop negative thoughts, put things in perspective and be grateful. It can help you focus on what’s positive about your job.

You might want to be a fireman; many children do. But you should be happy minding the home fires in some other profession.

TWO SIDES OF THE COIN

The happiest professions and the least satisfying (%*)

The Best…

• Clergy 87

• Firefighters 80

• Physical therapists 78

• Authors 74

• Special education teachers 70

• Teachers 69

• Education administrators 68

• Painters and sculptors 67

• Psychologists 67

• Security and financial services salespersons 65

• Operating engineers 64

• Office supervisors 61

and the worst…

• Labourers (except construction) 21

• Apparel clothing salespersons 24

• Hand-packers and packagers 24

• Food preparers 24

• Roofers 25

• Cashiers 25

• Furniture and home-furnishing nsalespersons 25

• Bartenders 26

• Freight, stock and material handlers 26

• Waiters and servers 27

* Percentage of subjects who said they were very satisfied with the job

Source: University of Chicago survey of 27,000 Americans