Care sector comes top in job satisfaction

Keystone-SDA

Employees in the care sector lead the field in terms of job satisfaction, according to a Swiss study. Eight out of ten employees say they have a meaningful job.

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However, there still seems to be room for improvement when it comes to work-life balance. Overall, the study by the Sotomo research institute, which was published on Tuesday, found that the care sector had the highest satisfaction ratings. Hardly any differences were found according to gender.

However, it is different when it comes to age: according to the study, older employees are more likely to feel a sense of fulfilment and pride. This feeling is sometimes crucial for a fulfilling working life.

According to the study, almost half of employees feel a lot or very much pride in their work. Once again, the nursing professions scored particularly highly here. Nursing and medicine also came out on top in the assessment of job security – followed by social professions, the construction industry and public administration.

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Wages alone are not enough

However, it is not only meaningfulness and fulfilment in the job that are important for job satisfaction. According to the study, structural conditions must also be in place. Employees in the care sector rated these less favourably. According to the study, there is a particular lack of work-life balance.

Almost half of the employees surveyed (47%) said that a good work-life balance was important. Almost as important to them were varied and challenging tasks (44%) and the opportunity to make a positive impact (38%). Salary was not unimportant to respondents, but only came in fourth place.

The study was conducted by the Sotomo research institute in March 2026 as part of the “Make a career as a human being” campaign. The campaign is backed by the supporting organisations Artiset, Spitex Switzerland and OdASanté. It was supported by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). More than 4,300 working people in Switzerland and pensioners were surveyed for the poll.

Adapted from German by AI/ts

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