There’s no denying that we humans have certain hang-ups when it comes to job titles – why else would we feel the need to call a shop assistant a ‘brand champion’ or a paper boy a ‘media distribution officer’?
Solopress carried out a survey of 2,000 people to get to the root of our thoughts and feelings when it came to certain job titles, and brought some interesting responses.
Nobody likes to get back to their car to find a ticket, so when quizzed about the most hated professions, it will come as no surprise that traffic wardens topped the list with a huge 47.85 percent of the vote! It was interesting to see the lack of respect the general public have for the police, as they came fourth on the same list with 8.5 percent of the vote.
It’s not what you know…
The old saying states that “it’s not what you know, but who you know” and this certainly rings true for those surveyed working in education, utilities and legal; more of those employed in these three sectors gained employment through friends and family than education!
When it came to respect, surgeons had the lion’s share of the vote with 33.25 percent, whilst doctors came a close second with 31.35 percent. Whilst it’s popular belief that teachers have a lot on their plate these days, they only had the most respect from just 6.3 percent of respondents.
Work/life balance
So what about getting that work/life balance just right? Nearly a quarter of Brits surveyed (24.85 percent) confessed that their job had affected their love life and happiness. This seemed to be even more prevalent among the young; 26.67 percent of 18-24 year olds blamed work for having an adverse effect on their personal lives. Voluntary workers were most likely to have their happiness affected with 37.21 percent, closely followed by those working in media and publishing (35.56 percent).
Pinocchio syndrome
We’ve all encountered people that have either exaggerated or flat-out lied about their position, but who are the biggest culprits? It was in actual fact the 18-24 year old category most likely to suffer from Pinocchio syndrome; 28.67 percent had lied about their job title at some point or other!
Out of the 2,000 surveyed, men were the biggest fibbers, with 25 percent admitting to lying about their job title. So, next time you get chatting to an 18-year-old male claiming to be a rocket scientist, just double-check he’s not in fact a trainee lab technician!
Have you met anyone who lies about their job title? Let us know in the comments below (and don’t lie!).
Photo: Gabriel S. Delgado C. / Flickr
Head of Community Social Engagement at Solopress.
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