Sassy comebacks, runny noses and the smell of bad cafeteria food aren’t enough to keep teachers from scoring above all other professions in a Gallup poll measure of well-being released Wednesday.
Teachers surveyed reported laughing and smiling more than other professionals, factors in accruing the highest level of emotional health. That was one of six categories used to determine overall well-being.
Teachers joined farmers, fishers and forestry workers in making the healthiest choices among American professionals — like eating well, refraining from smoking and exercising regularly.
They scored highest, too, on a self-evaluation of their present and future lives, far outpacing other professional workers like lawyers, doctors and engineers.
The survey, completed by Gallup-Healthways, was based on more than 400,000 interviews collected between the summers of 2008 and 2009.
Gallup researchers said it was unclear whether teachers’ higher scores “are because working in that profession enhances one’s well-being, or if people who have higher well-being in general seek out teaching professions.”
Doug Prouty, president of the Montgomery County teachers union, said his members often cited more personal fulfillment than might be seen in other professions.
“I’d say that the satisfaction teachers get from working with students and seeing their progress probably accounts for a great deal of the results,” he said. “It’s a high-stress job, but the satisfaction is very present.”
Prouty added that county teachers who transitioned into teaching from a different profession told him their fulfillment was higher, but that the job was often much harder than they were expecting. Manufacturing and production workers landed most often near the bottom of the Gallup poll, along with transportation workers. Teachers, who included public and private school instructors from pre-kindergarten through higher education, scored nearer the middle of the pack only in “work environment” and “physical health.” Their overall high level of well-being “may prove beneficial to their students and the broader community,” the report said.
