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Accountancy: A happy profession?

17th May 2013
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In the past couple of weeks two opposite views of the profession hit the headlines – firstly that accountants are among the happiest workers in Britain; and the other pointing to a surge of accountants seeking help to deal with things like depression and anxiety.

Accountants came in near the top of the happy pile - just behind teachers, secretaries and engineers - in research commissioned by Surbiton High School.

But with so many spurious survey results in circulation, it can be hard to know which way to turn. Those members with long memories will recall the origins of AccountingWEB’s Born Dull section, where the community arose en masse in August 2000 to defend the profession's reputation after a survey suggested accountants were pre-disposed to dullness.

But if the Surbiton and dull surveys are both to be believed, perhaps there is some correlation between dullness and happiness. Is boringness bliss?

However the sunny view of accountancy is cast into question by the rising number of people approaching the Chartered Accountants’ Benevolent Association (CABA). Last year the charity reported a 70% rise in requests for help, reflecting these “especially difficult times”.

If accountants are among the most contented workers, but prone to occasional bouts of unhappiness, then how much worse are other professions further down the first list? Spare a thought for all the social workers, journalists and police officers out there.

Maybe it’s got something to do with how accountants deal with the onset of the blues. The Born Dull?! archive is full of biking beancounters, bungee jumpers and members expressing their enthusiasm for loud rock music. Could these alternative outlets keeps depression at bay for some accountants?

We may be a bunch of cynical moaners on the AccountingWEB editorial team, and usually approach figures like these with a fair amount of scepticism. But as you might have picked up already, what all these surveys do show is just how diverse the modern profession is.

What was that about “lies, damn lies, and statistics”?

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Replies (6)

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By KateR
17th May 2013 17:35

Accountancy: A happy profession?

"Accountants came in near the top of the happy pile - just behind teachers.....". I am already sceptical. My husband, an actor, was also a supply teacher for over 10 years. Many of those teachers whom he covered for were on sick leave due to stress. His experience generally did not bear out the idea that teachers are especially happy people. So where does that leave us accountants?

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By User deleted
19th May 2013 12:57

I think we are happy ...

... because the work is varied and enjoyable, the meeting the clients, turning a mass of data into information etc. -  if that floats your boat ...

... but the relentless deadlines, punative and disproportionate penalties for trivial errors/omssions and missed deadlines, rectifying HMRC [***]-ups and dealing with their inefficiencies and wait times, soft/hardware failures etc. etc. do feed stress, anxiety and depression.

So, we tend to be bi-polar in how we feel abiout our work!

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By User deleted
19th May 2013 15:26

Happy

Well I was happy till I read OGA's post! Now I'm feeling downright gloomy :(

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By Steve McQueen
19th May 2013 16:20

I've always felt that...
...I'm in the wrong business. I've found accountancy soulless, tedious and full of arbitrary pomp and circumstance. I've been relentlessly squashed by the regulators whenever I have dared to put my head above the parapet and I have tried several times to get out.

The trouble is, I am good at what I do, it pays well and I can't face starting again at the bottom of something else which may prove to be equally as futile once I get into it.

I try hard to talk everyone out of any of the non medical professions and live for my holidays and the weekends.

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FT
By FirstTab
20th May 2013 00:00

Would not do anything else
I just love what I do. They have been some right mess-ups on my part. Overall I could not be happier.

They are some down days like when client recruitment is just not there or some prat accountant is charging such low fees.

It is getting more and more difficult, but I still would not give up.

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By Accountsetc
20th May 2013 09:18

The reason why I am happy

is that whilst there is stress (usually of my own making) at the end of the day I have flexibility over the way I spend my time. I enjoyed working in industry but the one thing I couldn't reconcile with was the inflexibility of my time. If the sun is shining on a Tue afternoon I want to be able to take a long lunch with wife and/or friends and return to work when I am ready to (usually the following morning).

For me thats definitely worth a decrease in salary and security. 

 

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