Where we're happiest Exercising Control An overwhelming majority of designers spend most of the day at their desks-74% are there for more than half the day. But those that move around more, spending the majority of their days in meetings, travelling or working from home are decidedly happier, rating themselves as 7.2/10 in overall happiness. The desk-dwellers only rated themselves an average of 6.9/10. The factor that may have had the biggest impact on happiness? Control. Designers who felt they had maximum control over the elements on their job rated their happiness as 8.5/10, while those who felt they had the least amount of control only gave themselves a score of 4.3/10. But it's important to note: over a third of those who spend the majority of their time away from their desk were firm leaders (CEO's, Partners, Principals, etc), while only 12% of desk dwellers were in firm-wide leadership positions. Those who reported having a good work/life balance were also happier, rating themselves as an 8.0/10. Those who didn't feel they had work/ life balance rated their happiness significantly lower: on average 4.9/10. 7.2 6.9 33% 12% Happiness with Movers vs. Desk Dwellers 30 Movers: Firm Leaders Desk Dwellers: Firm leaders