Worcester placed second on CareerBliss.com’s list of happiest U.S. cities in which to work
by Kathryn Natale
Scarlet Staff
Recently, CareerBliss.com compiled a list of the happiest and unhappiest cities to work in.
Photo Courtesy of CareerBliss.com
Forbes published these findings last week, calling attention to a surprising runner-up for the happiest city to work in: Worcester. Clark’s beloved hometown placed second on the list with a score of 4.10 out of 5, just behind Miami, which placed at number one with a score of 4.14. The unhappiest city on the list was New Haven, CT, with a score of 3.46, followed by Dayton, OH, and Milwaukee, WI.
Scores were based on data received from over 43,000 employee reviews throughout 2011. The survey asked employees to rate their work experience in ten areas, including relationships with bosses and coworkers, compensation, work environment, and growth opportunities. Each factor was rated on a five point scale and weighted against how important employees indicated the factor was to their happiness.
Many Clarkies would never have guessed in a million years that Worcester made the list. “I was shocked to hear that Worcester was listed as one of the happiest places to work,” said Amelia Eimert, a senior at Clark. “I wouldn’t get that from what I see every day.” Walking through Main South, a myriad of unhappy faces can be seen in the streets lined with small businesses and abandoned factories. So just who are these jolly workers? CareerBliss’s survey only required fifty participants from a city in order for it to qualify, so perhaps there was not a representative sample from Worcester included in the survey – or maybe there is more to Worcester than meets the eye. CareerBliss’s chief executive, Heidi Golledge, told Forbes that the key factors for worker happiness are opportunities for growth and company culture. Even if only fifty people from Worcester participated in the survey, that’s at least fifty people who view Worcester’s performance in these areas as exceptional.
Worcester’s job climate is apparently more than satisfying to many of the employees who call it home. While it may not be too ostensible on the streets surrounding Clark, somewhere out there are numerous happy little workers who are taking to the internet to sing the city’s praises.
The full Forbes article, including a link to CareerBliss’s results, can be found at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/01/17/the-happiest-and-unhappiest-cities-to-work-in/
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