America’s Happiest (and Deadliest?) Job - Southern Loggin' Times By: David Abbot Southern
Are you a logger, or otherwise employed in something that’s at least tangentially connected to this noble profession? I’m gonna go out on a limb here (pun intended, sorry) and say probably so, since you’re reading Southern Loggin’ Times. Well, get this: if you are a logger, you’re among the happiest people on earth, according to a recent (1-6-2023) article in the Washington Post. Congratulations!
The article’s author, one Andrew Van Dam, advises the reader to: “Envy the lumberjacks, for they perform the happiest, most meaningful work on earth. Or at least they think they do. Farmers, too. Agriculture, logging and forestry have the highest levels of self-reported happiness— and lowest levels of self-reported stress—of any major industry category, according to our analysis of…the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey.”
Basically, it appears that the government surveyed a bunch of people over the last decade or so and asked them how happy or sad, stressed, frustrated, or fulfilled, their various activities made them feel.
Van Dam goes on to say that “Additional reporting sharpened our focus on lumberjacks and foresters, but almost everyone who works on farms or in forests stands out.” Well, hey Andy, I could have told you that. Loggers, farmers, and foresters have always been standouts in my book.
On one hand, this really shouldn’t come as any surprise to me or any of you. Of course working in agriculture and/or forestry makes people happy. They sure don’t do it for the money! But you’re in the great outdoors, growing, and harvesting renewable natural resources that we all need. Working in the woods, or in the fields, breathing fresh air, absorbing the smells and the sounds unique to a logging job or a cattle ranch or a farm…you fall in love with it.
Van Dam seems to get it, writing: “Researchers across the social and medical sciences have found a strong link between mental health and…being outdoors. Even seeing a tree out your window can help you recover from illness faster. So imagine the boost you get from being right next to said tree—even if, like our friend the lumberjack, you’re in the process of chopping it down.”
Chopping it down, I should point out, generally, to plant more, in a never-ending cycle of renewability. But his point remains valid. Most loggers usually like being in the woods. How many people get the same vibe from a factory assembly line or an office?
Logging is hard work, yes, but it’s fun, and it’s fulfilling (if not always financially viable). It’s not just a job; it becomes an identity. It’s in your blood; it’s your family, your community, your culture, your lifestyle.
And moreover, you know that what you’re doing matters; it’s meaningful. You know you’re part of a tradition, leaving a legacy that will outlive you. You plant trees you’ll never harvest, and harvest trees planted by others before you, hauling logs that will become lumber in some family’s home, where someone you’ll never meet will live and love, raise their kids and grow old, in a house that may stand for generations after we’re all gone.
True, yours is different from the important work done by more high profile public servants like healthcare workers, teachers, police officers, fire fighters, and those brave souls who serve in the military. But it’s just as vital. Those in the rural professions provide goods and services that are not only essential to society but fundamental to survival. The basics are food and shelter, right? Farmers provide food, and loggers provide the materials needed to build shelter, among other things, including comforts like toilet paper and diapers. Arguably those are not “essential,” strictly speaking, but think back three years ago to the pandemic-panicked shortages in the TP aisle and ask how many folks are real enthusiastic to do without some Charmin or Angel Soft.
Still, on the other hand, I was very surprised when my friend in Washington forwarded me this article. Logging ranks as the happiest job? Really? Loggers love logging, sure, no surprise there, and it’s great to be outside in the sunshine and the smell of pinesap and fresh sawdust. But there are just so many difficulties that go with the job. And this is where Van Dam kind of loses me. He writes, “…our friends the lumberjacks and farmers do the least-stressful work…”
Do what now? The least stressful what?
I’ve never actually been a logger, but I seem to recall Abbott Logging Company having my parents pretty well stressed out a lot in the ’80s and ’90s. I heard from a logging family just this very evening who told me rain has kept them from working for the last seven weeks straight. Seven weeks! That’s seven weeks with no income. If you can’t produce, or you can’t haul, then you don’t get paid. But the bills...the equipment payments, the insurance, not to mention your house note, your utilities, your groceries…yeah those bills just keep on piling up; they don’t take a break just because the ground is wet or the mills on quota. That ain’t stressful?
See, you gotta remember this is based on what people self-reported. White collar jobs report more stress than blue collar jobs, according to the article. Lawyer ranks as the most stressful profession. In other words, lawyers think they’re more stressed than others. So maybe it’s just that loggers and farmers don’t whine about their stress as much.
Read the article if you can: The happiest, least stressful, most meaningful jobs in America - The Washington Post
Van Dam talks to and about some pretty interesting folks in there, like timber sports world champion Alissa Wetherbee of the Axe Women Loggers of Maine and Dana Chandler of South Carolina’s Family Tree Forestry.
Van Dam briefly notes that logging is a “particularly perilous” profession. This is supported by an article that ran on the Fox Business web site on 12-22-22. Link to Article: Deadliest jobs in America revealed: These industries are 'dangerous and difficult' | Fox Business. Greg Norman writes, “The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ national census of fatal occupation injuries revealed that the logging industry has a fatal work injury rate of 82 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2021.”
Norman quotes American Loggers Council’s Scott Dane, who points out that while the risk is a badge of honor for some loggers, most take professional pride in focusing on safety.
Bottom line: survey says that farming and forestry, despite being difficult, dangerous, and not generally among the highest paying professions, produce the happiest lifestyles overall. Sure, it’s not for everyone…not everyone can do it, not everyone wants to do it, not everyone really has what it takes to do it…but those who do choose to do it are generally happier than those who don’t.
What about you? Does this reflect your experience? Do you love what you do? Do you feel like you’re the happiest people you know? I hope you can answer yes to all. Till next time…Excelsior!
