Gallup’s global surveys reveal that people with “good jobs,” those who are employed full time for an employer, tend to have the highest wellbeing of those in the workforce. They are more likely to be “thriving” than those who are self-employed, employed part time looking for full-time work, or unemployed.
Worldwide, individuals employed full time for an employer tend to report the highest evaluative wellbeing, with 29% thriving. Those employed part time and those who are unemployed do not fall far behind. Self-employed respondents report the lowest evaluative wellbeing, with 14% thriving.
This is noteworthy in dentistry in that most dentists are self-employed in America.
In advanced economies, self-employed folks continue to lag behind in wellbeing.
Quality of life issues and the type of employment you have are intertwined. As worldwide business eventually ramps up after the global recession, it is a consideration that must be made.
One of the most important factors contributing to an individual’s wellbeing is his or her employment status. Globally, the difference in wellbeing between those who have good jobs and those who are self-employed is significant. In terms of one’s wellbeing, the worst job in the world is to be self-employed in a developing country. At 12% thriving, the self-employed in the developing world have the lowest wellbeing of any group. Many of the world’s poor are forced into growing or making things to sell on a street corner, working for themselves out of desperation. The picture is different in the developed world, where the self-employed are more likely to be entrepreneurs out of opportunity.
Traditional employment metrics do not always capture the complete jobs situation. Traditional unemployment does not include part-time workers who are looking for full-time work or individuals who are working for themselves in subsistence jobs. In the developing world, self-employed individuals may not only fail to make meaningful contributions to the formal economy, but also their jobs are not positively affecting their wellbeing. Gallup research reveals that full-time employment for an employer highly correlates with GDP per capita. Being employed full time for an employer is therefore a much better gauge of good jobs than unemployment, which has no statistical relationship to GDP per capita on a global basis.
As global leaders continue to make jobs their No. 1 priority, they need to use better metrics to assess whether they are actually creating good jobs. Good jobs not only have a significant impact on a country’s gross domestic product, but they also are fundamental to a country’s gross national wellbeing.