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Optimism

Work style · O*NET

Optimism is one of O*NET's work styles — the personality tendencies people bring to a job that affect how well the work is done , grouped under Interpersonally Oriented. O*NET describes it as: "A tendency to exhibit a positive attitude and positive emotions at work, even under difficult circumstances." It is rated for 891 occupations and ranks low among work styles by how much it matters on average.

How it's measured

O*NET scores each occupation on this work style with a Work Styles Impact (WI) value — higher means the style matters more to doing the work well. The figures here are those occupation-level scores: a description of which jobs lean on this trait, not a judgment about pay, difficulty, or whether a job is "good," and not a claim about any individual worker.

Economy-wide average 0.76 Mean across all 891 rated occupations
Range across occupations -0.34–2.77 Lowest to highest occupation score (spread 3.11)
Impact vs. other styles 17th pct Where this style's average ranks among all O*NET work styles

Occupations where this style matters most

The occupations that score this work style strongest.

Occupation Impact
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education 2.77
Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers 2.67
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten 2.58
Special Education Teachers, Preschool 2.58
Adapted Physical Education Specialists 2.53
Childcare Workers 2.53
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education 2.53
Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors 2.53
Nannies 2.53
Personal Care Aides 2.53
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education 2.53
Recreational Therapists 2.53
Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors 2.49
Clergy 2.49
Community Health Workers 2.49
Concierges 2.49
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors 2.49
Fundraisers 2.49
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers 2.49
Music Therapists 2.49
Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education 2.49
Teaching Assistants, Special Education 2.49
Rehabilitation Counselors 2.44
Tutors 2.44
Directors, Religious Activities and Education 2.40
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 2.40
Special Education Teachers, Elementary School 2.40
Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare 2.35
Home Health Aides 2.35
Special Education Teachers, Middle School 2.35
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School 2.35
Child, Family, and School Social Workers 2.31
Healthcare Social Workers 2.31
Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists 2.31
Athletes and Sports Competitors 2.27
Mental Health Counselors 2.27
Pediatricians, General 2.27
Physical Therapists 2.27
Residential Advisors 2.27
Self-Enrichment Teachers 2.27
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors 2.27
Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary 2.27
Actors 2.25
Art Therapists 2.22
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School 2.22
Disc Jockeys, Except Radio 2.22
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 2.22
Nursing Assistants 2.22
Public Relations Managers 2.22
Social and Human Service Assistants 2.22
Speech-Language Pathologists 2.22
Midwives 2.18
Patient Representatives 2.18
School Psychologists 2.18
Social and Community Service Managers 2.18
Substitute Teachers, Short-Term 2.18
Telemarketers 2.18
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School 2.14
Clinical Nurse Specialists 2.14
Demonstrators and Product Promoters 2.14

Occupations where this style matters least

The occupations that score this work style weakest — where it is least central to the work.

Occupation Impact
Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators -0.34
Geodetic Surveyors -0.32
Insurance Underwriters -0.32
Credit Analysts -0.30
Financial Risk Specialists -0.30
Penetration Testers -0.24
Slaughterers and Meat Packers -0.22
Fallers -0.21
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers -0.21
Log Graders and Scalers -0.20
Nuclear Monitoring Technicians -0.20
Tapers -0.20
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders -0.18
Glaziers -0.18
Non-Destructive Testing Specialists -0.18
Rock Splitters, Quarry -0.18
Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders -0.18
Actuaries -0.17
Foundry Mold and Coremakers -0.17
Pourers and Casters, Metal -0.17
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand -0.16
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products -0.16
Nuclear Technicians -0.16
Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers -0.16
Business Intelligence Analysts -0.14
Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers -0.14
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders -0.14
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic -0.14
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers -0.14
Motion Picture Projectionists -0.14
Retail Loss Prevention Specialists -0.14
Stone Cutters and Carvers, Manufacturing -0.14
Surveyors -0.14
Credit Authorizers, Checkers, and Clerks -0.13
Digital Forensics Analysts -0.13
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders -0.13
Financial Examiners -0.13
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic -0.13
Hoist and Winch Operators -0.13
Machine Feeders and Offbearers -0.13
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers -0.13
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic -0.13
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders -0.13
Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders -0.13
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders -0.13
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders -0.11
Crane and Tower Operators -0.11
Financial Quantitative Analysts -0.11
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic -0.11
Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic -0.11
Patternmakers, Wood -0.11
Proofreaders and Copy Markers -0.11
Prepress Technicians and Workers -0.10
Statistical Assistants -0.10
Surveying and Mapping Technicians -0.10
Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders -0.10
Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters -0.10
Tire Builders -0.10
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners -0.10
Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping -0.10

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

  • O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Optimism." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/work-styles/optimism

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Optimism. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/work-styles/optimism

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-optimism,
  title  = {Optimism},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/work-styles/optimism}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.