Last week Obiter revealed that, according to the Happiness At Work Index created by recruiters Badenoch & Clark, the happiest white-collar workers in the UK are 'female Gemini lawyers, living in Bristol, working for a female boss at a firm or in-house for less than five years, commuting each day by car and only required to wear casual business attire'. Our search
for the person who fits the bill best has prompted a number of people to get in touch.



'As a male solicitor, I am immediately disqualified from extremes of happiness,' writes Duncan Mitchell, a solicitor in the Environment Agency's legal services department in Bristol, 'but most of my colleagues here at head office legal are female, which is pretty good compensation. It follows that quite a few of us have female line managers. We're all "in-house" with the Environment Agency, some have been here for under five years (and those of who have been here longer seem pretty content).



'Some of us commute by car, but others walk or cycle, such is the quality of life here in Bristol, and our dress is as casual as it gets. Three of my female colleagues are Geminis. On this basis, I think we may qualify collectively as the happiest bunch of lawyers in the UK. Do we get a prize to make us even happier?' A nice try, Duncan, but surely your team's state of great emotional wellbeing is reward enough?



To the individual - as opposed to team - event. Bevan Brittan professional support lawyer Claire Booth ticks almost all of the boxes, with a female boss and having worked for the firm for four years. Alas, Bevan Brittan's dress code has changed recently, so she now has to wear smart rather than casual business attire. She does not reveal whether this had an impact on her level of happiness, but she proudly proclaims, 'yes, I'm a happy worker'.



Philippa Hann, an associate at Bristol firm Clarke Willmott, also claims she fits almost all of the criteria, only lacking a female boss. Like Ms Booth, she takes issue that commuting by car is a necessary prerequisite for being happy, pointing out that she lives a short walk away, 'which I think is probably better as I get to spend the petrol and parking money on shoes and handbags'. She adds: 'I am generally happy in my work. That said - is this as good as it gets?'



Do you have the recipe for happiness? Email gazette-editorial@lawsociety.org.uk.