According to the "Chinese Happiness Survey 2011" published in November 2011, China's most content are: company heads, managers, and leaders of government institutions. Researchers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and media and IT professionals follow. However, civil servants are far less happy, the survey revealed; they come in behind freelancers and the self-employed in the rankings. But those who feel most negative about their prospects are farmers and migrant workers.

The survey, which covered 287 cities, included interviewees between the ages of 20 and 60 working in over 10 kinds of occupations. It was jointly conducted by the Beijing-based Chinese-language magazine Xiaokang and Tsinghua University.

Zaheer Cassim, a South African who owns a video production company in Johannesburg, and Song Meifeng, an editor at Beijing Office of Norstar Media & Communications Inc., give their own perspectives on career happiness.

No Boss, No Problem

by Zaheer Cassim

As a freelance journalist and videographer working from home, I can't wait to wake up every day and expand my company. The thrill of landing a new client, finishing a project and sending an invoice makes me feel like I've won gold at the Olympics.

I may not have the guarantee of a monthly paycheck, but having control of my own life is more important to me than making money.

Most of my friends employed at big companies work long hours and are slaves to their smartphones. They complain about having no time because their employers expect them to complete tasks meant for two or three people. When payday comes, they complain about not being sufficiently compensated. If they do receive pay bumps, it's at the expense of spending more time at work.

Like them, paying the bills is also a concern for me. In this uncertain global economy, even big clients need more time to pay their debts. Small businesses like my own have to be extremely cautious now. It can be too easy to start spending money that is not yet in your bank account.

The burdens of being your own boss also tend to stick with you throughout the day. I lose sleep when I am coming to the end of a project. When is my next job? What can I do to get more clients? Questions like these plague me as my head hits the pillow.

People who work for others don't have to worry about this. If the month is quiet, the paycheck is still in the mail. A decade ago, I may have envied these people, but today no one's job is safe.

Around the globe, corporate executives looking to save percentage points on stock options are destroying middle class families by firing thousands of employees. In South Africa, much like the rest of the world, top executives still make illogical salaries and bonuses, while the masses at the bottom struggle to make ends meet. It makes me wonder why people don't challenge the capitalistic economic structures that fill politicians' pockets when they take power.

Many people look back at their lives and wish they had chosen a different profession. I can't tell if I feel this way in the future, but I know that right now, in my life, I wouldn't change anything. I work for the best boss in the world: Me!

Good Starting Points

by Song Meifeng

I recently got together with classmates from graduate school. Three years have passed since we graduated in 2009. At the party, we talked about our jobs and lives. One of my classmates works in an investment bank, an enviable profession for most people; but he looked very tired and complained about the long hours and high pressure of his job. He was envious of those of us with steady jobs in state-owned enterprises, which are generally less-pressure places. After several years in the workforce, we all felt it was really important to enjoy what we do.

Loving one's work means career happiness. But what exactly is career happiness? Some researchers say it is when a person's basic needs are satisfied, their potential fulfilled, and their strength increased while working. Put simply, career happiness means having fun on the job.

I have been a business news editor for a Canadian media organization for three years now. Sometimes I find my work tiring, but on the whole, I still believe its value cannot be replicated in other jobs.

As a magazine editor, everyday I read and observe what is happening in this world. I also have to keep some distance from the mainstream in order to figure out my opinions. My profession requires me to be an independent thinker, as well as a good communicator.

An editor can be a person who brings about or creates debates, disputes and controversies. In most cases, the topics editors choose to embody the values they want to convey to the public.

I find that being an editor enriches my knowledge and cultivates my intellectual and analytical abilities. Every day, I am required to read a lot of news, analysis and learn different views. This not only keeps me well-informed about certain subjects and curious about their related fields, but also provides me with good training to improve my judgment. Compared to other jobs, these experiences are really valuable.

Yu Minhong, President of Beijing New Oriental Education & Technology, Inc. once said that a person who leads a happy life posses three elements: first, a job that he or she really loves, and that brings in income; second, not much obsession over wealth, fame or power, but a drive to pursue inner contentment instead; and third, a loving companion. The first element is about career happiness. In my opinion, it's also the starting point of a happy life.