AS the morning commute usually involves a broken escalator, signal failure or track defect, my thoughts often turn to Scotland as I stand squashed against humanity, enduring yet another Tube delay. While it might be true that I would rather be yomping across a glen, that is not the reason that Scotland comes to mind.

For decades, hard-working Londoners have been subsidising huge investment north of the border, while our own public transport infrastructure has been left to rot. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy visiting Scotland, and seeing what we’ve paid for, but decades of political meddling in London’s success have built empty roads in Scotland while pushing the capital towards paralysis.

But I was happy to read last week that it has all been worthwhile because, according to Reader’s Digest, two Scottish areas have been voted Britain’s happiest places to bring up a family. So hats off to East Dunbartonshire (the posh bit north of Glasgow) and East Renfrewshire (the posh bit south of Glasgow) for making the most of Londoners’ money.

However, according to the City & Guilds’ happiness index, the Scots are unhappiest at work, while people in northwest England and East Anglia are happiest. Surprisingly, money has nothing to do with it.

“When asked to rate their workplace in terms of happiness, almost a third of people in the £10,000 to £15,000 bracket gave their job a 10 out of 10,” said Chris Humphries, C&G’s director-general. “Compare that with workers in the £40,000 to £45,000 bracket, where less than 5% gave their workplace a 10. Financial reward doesn’t always mean a happier working environment or employee.”

As was the case last year, it is hairdressers and beauticians who are happiest in their work, while human-resources people and secretaries are a decidedly glum-faced bunch.

A little irked, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development piped up that, according to its own research, HR people are happy with their career choice and are not the “miserable gits” described in the C&G study. Which rather misses the point: they may well be content with their career choice but that doesn’t make them happy workers — especially if they are Scottish.

jobfile@deft.co.uk

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