Occupation and Subjective Wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between occupation and wellbeing in New Zealand, using data from the New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS), the New Zealand Household Economic Survey (HES) and administrative records. It addresses a gap in information available to inform career decisions beyond pay and working conditions. Findings reveal that while higher incomes generally correlate with higher life satisfaction, this isn’t always the case, with some occupations reporting higher or lower life satisfaction than expected based on income alone. ‘Defence force, firefighters and police officers’, ‘teachers’, and ‘air and marine
transport professionals’ all have an average level of life satisfaction that is well above what might be expected based on their incomes.
By contrast, while ‘legal professionals’ (lawyers) have the second highest average income in the dataset, their life satisfaction is below
average and well below what might be expected based on their income. This information on the relationship between occupation
and wellbeing can aid career decision making, as well as help to identify occupations needing support to improve worker wellbeing.