Want to Feel Inspired at Work? Try One of These Industries.

On July 23, we launched the LinkedIn Inspiration Index to measure where the most inspired professionals in the world are and what are they doing. With nearly 100,000 responses so far, we’ve discovered some pretty amazing facts about professional inspiration:

• Professionals in creative industries (fine art and photography)  are more inspired than non-creative industries (tobacco and plastics)

• Those who work in smaller companies are more inspired than those in larger companies

• Middle managers tend to be less inspired than their direct reports (and their bosses!)

Digging into the data a little further, we were able to determine the most inspired professionals within specific work functions. This lets us answer the question: “What do the most inspired professionals do for a living?”

Here is how different industries scored on our Inspiration Index, from a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being the most inspired.

Most inspired industries for HR and Recruiting professionals (average score = 69)

1. Hospitality - 76

2. Pharmaceuticals - 73

3. Education Management - 72

4. Financial Services - 72

5. Non-profit Organization Management - 71

Most inspired industries for sales & business development professionals (average score = 67)

1. Health, Wellness and Fitness - 77

2. Airlines/Aviation - 77

3. Computer and Network Security - 76

4. Internet - 73

5. Leisure, Travel and Tourism - 73

Most inspired industries for marketing professionals (average score = 67)

1. Food & Beverages - 72

2. Financial Services - 71

3. Internet - 71

4. Information Technology and Services - 70

5. Non-profit Organization Management - 69

Most inspired industries for finance & accounting professionals (average score = 63)

1. Real Estate - 69

2. Management Consulting - 67

3. Telecommunications - 66

4. Information Technology and Services - 66

5. Pharmaceuticals - 65

What people do for a living has a profound impact on how inspired they feel. Hopefully the data above will help you convince prospective candidates that your industry can boost their spirits and make their work life more inspiring.

If you haven’t participated in the LinkedIn Inspiration Index yet, it’s not too late. Let us know how often you feel inspired by your work by answering one simple question. After you’ve responded, see how you stack up compared to thousands of other LinkedIn members.