Happiness by Desire by Professor Dolan lists hairdressers and beauticians as the second happiest profession with 79 per cent happy with their job, beaten to the post by florists and gardeners at 87 per cent.

Miss Mooney, who has been a hairdresser for 10 years and started her own business Studio Desire five months ago, said being able to make clients feel good about themselves was a highlight of the job.

“If you have a client that walks in and something’s happened or they tell you how bad their day has been, they mightn’t feel the best on the inside, but being able to make them feel good about themselves is very rewarding,” Miss Mooney said. 

Bradley’s Florist owner Sally Wright said she was a little surprised floristry topped the list of the happiest professions as it was a very busy job, but said most florists owned their own business and could control when and how they worked.

“It’s my dream job. It’s my job, my hours, and my workplace, which is normally flat out, but they’re not hard hours,” Mrs Wright said.

“Even though you might do 10 different bunches they’re all different, and you get to put smiles on people’s faces.”

Professor Dolan told Fairfax Media while more research was needed to find out why some professions were happier or unhappier than others, being able to see directly the outcome of work had an impact on job satisfaction.

“If you are a florist, you have social interaction, you are seeing the fruits of your labour, and getting it quickly,” Professor Dolan said.

“That’s in contrast to banking and lawyers, where it is unclear where you can get that feedback, and people are not probably very thankful for what you do.”

Additional reporting Julie Powers