Don’t worry. Be happy. Be healthy.

David KuackIf you’re running your own business then you should be a happy camper. Why? According to a recent Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey, business owners currently have the highest overall well-being of any occupational group. Transportation and manufacturing workers are the least satisfied — about a lot of things.

Even though most business owners are working longer and harder during this recession, the Gallup research found working longer hours was only highly detrimental to the well-being of those who were less engaged in their work. When it comes to incomes, business owners make slightly less than professionals and managers/executives. These three occupational groups also had the highest household income.

Hort happy
What may surprise you about the research findings is that workers involved in farming (including horticulture), forestry and fishing occupied the fourth spot in overall well-being. Even the Gallup people were surprised by this finding. Although workers in this group tied for lowest average income in 11 designated occupations and their work can be hard, they expressed satisfaction in specific work-related categories.

When it comes to satisfaction with their work environment, business owners were at the top of the list followed by farming, forestry and fishing employees. Like business owners, employees in these occupations appear not to have many supervisors.

The two categories in which farming, forestry and fishing workers had the greatest satisfaction was in emotional health and healthy behavior. The emotional well-being category considered positive daily experiences such as smiling and being treated with respect.

The study’s healthy behavior category measured four behaviors strongly linked to physical health: eating healthy, smoking, regular consumption of fruits and vegetables and exercise frequency. Workers in farming, forestry and fishing indicated they were much more likely to report physical exercise than those in other job categories.

Considering that workers in the farming, forestry and fishing jobs ranked at the top in the healthy behavior category, it was interesting that this group ranked only sixth out of 11 occupations in the physical health category. Construction workers ranked at the top, which the study indicated could be due to the physical demands of the jobs and the need to be in good physical condition.

Other categories in which farming, forestry and fishing workers ranked lower than other occupations were basic access (nine out of 11), which included access to food, shelter, health care, etc. Evaluating their life valuation -- which indicated how people saw their present and future lives -- farming, forestry and fishing workers ranked seventh out of the 11 occupations.

Gallup officials said the findings of the study can help employers identify those areas where changes can be made to help improve the well-being of their workforce, which could lead to a healthier economy.

For more: Gallup Inc., www.gallup.com/tag/Well-Being.aspx