Lawyers below unemployed in Happiness Index, new scoring claims

People working in the legal sector in Scotland have scored lower than the unemployed in a new index rating happiness at work.

For the Happiness Index, created by the Bank of Scotland and YouGov, 3,056 adults were asked to rate their happiness from a high of 100 to a low of -100. The unemployed returned a score of +16.92, compared with +16.63 across the legal sector.

The best ratings, at +61.62, were recorded by those working part time (between eight and 29 hours a week) in the Highlands & Islands.

Part time workers tended to score higher than full time, but those who work from home came out well ahead of commuters, averaging +55.17 against +42.91 for those with a travel time of under 15 minutes, and +29.58 for people with a journey of an hour or more.

Top occupation scores came from the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, at +57.92, followed by hotels and lodgings (+45.81) and personal care workers (+45.69). The overall average was +40.2, up from last year's +37.4.

Graham Blair of the Bank of Scotland commented: "Scotland's workforce is getting happier and it is clear that arrangements that allow people to work more flexibly are making a real difference.

"Those who work from home will be saving time and money on commuting costs, while part-time working is a great option for busy families that have young children or other commitments."

He added: "It is also interesting that the jobs that make people most happy are not the roles that pay the highest salaries."