Want a healthy, happy life? Become a teacher.
That’s not propaganda from your local P.T.A. It’s the takeaway from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, an extensive survey that attempts to measure who is leading the good life.
Of the dozen job types that Gallup keeps track of, teachers report the highest levels of over all well-being, ahead of even the self-employed, whom Gallup had previously believed to be the happiest workers.
More details on which professions are included in each of the categories above can be found here.The index has six main components. Teachers rank first on three: life evaluation; basic access to resources and services needed to lead a healthy life, like food and shelter; and emotional health. Teachers are also near the top of the list in healthy behaviors, since they report low levels of smoking and high levels of exercise and healthy eating.
Educators report being closer to the middle of the pack, however, when it comes to evaluating their work environments and their physical health.