Sad Sacks
Misery loves fajitas: Houston is labeled one of the unhappiest places to work in the nation
A recent article appeared in Forbes counting down the 10 happiest and unhappiest cities to work in the U.S. Based on an annual study by CareerBliss, a career information site, Houston is the No. 8 unhappiest city to work in right now.
Wait, what happened? Only six months ago, we were ranked as one of the nation's happiest cities. And recently we were named the nation's top city for science, technology, engineering and math careers? Sure, our traffic is so terrible we have to talk about it all the time just to make ourselves feel better, but we see sunshine 300 days a year and live in a city where it is culturally acceptable to eat fajitas at every meal.
A quick scan of the top 10 happiest places to work leaves us with one overwhelming question: How can living in Birmingham or Hartford make anyone happier than living in Houston?
According to Forbes, certain key factors (not including tacos) were considered in this study "including work-life balance, an employee’s relationship with his or her boss and co-workers, general work environment, compensation, opportunities for advancement, company culture and resources."
Could it be the city itself making us so unhappy? Though she fails to elaborate, Heidi Golledge, CEO and co-founder of CareerBliss, says that is a potential factor. “Where you live can definitely impact your overall happiness and even your perceived happiness in your career,” Golledge told Forbes.
So just where are these happy places to work? Coming in at No. 1 is Miami, followed by Sacramento (No. 2); Las Vegas (No. 3); Orlando (No. 4); Washington, D.C. (No. 5); Los Angeles (No. 6); Hartford, Connecticut (No. 7); San Antonio (No. 8); Birmingham, Alabama (No. 9) and New York City (No. 10).
A quick scan of the top 10 happiest places to work leaves us with one overwhelming question: How can living in Birmingham or Hartford make anyone happier than living in Houston? This a real, haunting question that Forbes fails to answer.
Joining us on the unhappy list are Cleveland (No. 1); Indianapolis (No. 2); Kansas City (No. 3); Salt Lake City (No. 4); Austin (No. 5); Cincinnati (No. 6); Louisville (No. 7); Tulsa (No. 9) and Chicago (No. 10).
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CultureMap editor-in-chief Clifford Pugh contributed to this report.
