Study finds people working in the bush are happiest
Curtin University confirms what most of us already know - that people living in the regional Australia are happier than those living in the cities.
A Curtin University study surveying more than 17,000 Australians has found that those living further from the city report being happier in their jobs. It also found that the agriculture sector has the highest proportion of workers that are ‘very satisfied’ in their work.
“The further you live from any major Australian city, the happier you are in your job,” the report reads. “The hectic, hustle and bustle of city life, additional time spent commuting and the greater competition in workplaces along with the increased likelihood of working in a big company as a professional, are likely to make work less satisfying for city goers than those living and working in regional areas across Australia.”
Of workers living in remote and very remote regions of Australia, 38% report being ‘very satisfied’ with their job overall. This compares starkly to those living in major Australian cities, where only 27% of workers report feeling ‘very satisfied’ with their job overall.
One survey responder Mark*, 54, said he enjoyed the community, variety and sense of contributing to society that comes with living and working on the land.
“After starting my career as a pilot, I am loving my choice to come back to my farming roots,” he said. “What living on the land gives me that I didn’t get in the air is variety. No two days are the same here: whether it’s crop trials, animal husbandry or marketing and promotion, there’s never a dull moment. What I love most about my work would be making a contribution to society by producing food and looking after the environment. One constant is the close sense of community, and we farmers work as a team. A classic example was when my father passed away during a harvest season. Within 48 hours our neighbours turned up to finish the harvest for us so that we could deal with the funeral and our grief.”
The study compiled these results using data from Melbourne University’s annual Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The HILDA Survey collects information on many aspects of life in Australia, including household and family relationships, income and employment, and health and education. Participants are followed over the course of their lifetime, making HILDA is the only study of its kind in Australia.
* Not his real name.
Photo credit: Zoran Orcik
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