The best pandemic occupations for work-life balance and health and wellbeing

The current pandemic has changed the way we work and this looks set to remain the case for the long-term at the very least. 

Many of us are enjoying more time at home and will be placing a greater emphasis on personal wellbeing when we do return to work in the outside world.

With this in mind, leading recruitment specialist, Rayner Personnel has looked at which occupational sectors score the highest in this respect based on the CIPD UK Working Lives survey.

Work-life balance

In terms of the best work-life balance, the skilled agricultural sector scored the highest at 0.57. This sector includes roles from farming to the horticultural trades, greenkeeping, fishing trades, groundsmen and gardeners.

Sales occupations such as retail workers, window dressers, street traders and sales supervisors also scored high at 0.56, along with secretarial roles, administration roles and cultural, media and sports roles.

Health and Wellbeing

Where health and wellbeing is concerned, skilled agriculture (0.70), culture, media and sport (0.63) and administrative roles (0.62) scored high again.

The occupational sector of business associates, which includes everything from air traffic controllers, pilots, brokers, financial analysts, sales and marketing and more, also scored highly, along with managerial roles.

Pay and Benefits

Of course, for many, a post-pandemic job hunt may focus heavily on the salary available due to months of financial turmoil.

In this case, roles for directors, scientists, business professionals, business associates and customer services ranked amongst some of the best options.

Josh Rayner, CEO of Rayner Personnel, commented:

“We’re going to see a shift in the way we work as the current pandemic plays out and it’s quite likely this will remain on a long-term basis.

For the lucky ones amongst us, a post-pandemic job hunt will be spurred by the desire to spend more time at home with loved ones. However, many will be driven into new roles due to redundancy and financial instability.

Regardless of what the reason is, there are a plethora of roles available that rank highly based on different criteria. While the majority of us will have a good idea of the job role they want, it doesn’t hurt to start broad and narrow down your options.

Who knows, you may find yourself opting for a completely different career path, and this could well be the change that brings more financial stability, more time outside in the fresh air, or allows you to spend more time at home with your family. ”