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Lack of flexible work conditions, T&D among gripes cited by U.K. professionals in survey
HR PROFESSIONALS ARE among the unhappiest employees, coming in third last on a scale rating 20 professions in the United Kingdom.
Just one-half (54 per cent) of HR professionals said they are happy, found the Career Happiness Index 2012 by vocational education firm City & Guilds in London.
The fact HR is less happy than other occupations isn't entirely surprising, said Jean Douglas, president of management consulting firm Douglas Communications in Maple Ridge, B.C. The nature of the job involves difficult interactions with employees, which greatly affect how a person feels at work, she said.
Often HR has to deal with the "dark underside" of organizations, said Mark Norman, owner and senior partner of Heart of the Matter Consulting, a culture change consultancy in Frankford, Ont.
"They're the ones who have to deal with conflict, inappropriate behaviours, harassment, the messiness of organizational life," he said. "They're exposed to things that most people don't see on a daily basis."
The happiest professionals are florists and gardeners (87 per cent happy), followed by hairdressers (79 per cent) and plumbers (76 per cent), found the survey of 2,200 workers.
"HR - where they have to potentially take ambiguous information and influence leaders - that can be very challenging, and looking for facts to support their arguments may not always be as easy as cutting someone's hair," said Christian Codrington, senior manager of operations at the British Columbia Human Resources Management Association (BC HRMA) in Vancouver.
"An HR job is more challenging and can be more frustrating at times than some of those other jobs."
Eight in 10 (82 per cent) of florists and gardeners said they are happy in their job because they are able to use and hone their skills every day. After data processors,...