You know what actually makes people happy at work?
Spoiler: it’s not cubicles, khakis, or back-to-back Zoom calls about absolutely nothing. It’s cannabis.
According to the 2025 Shift Pulse Report, a juicy data drop from Deputy, a platform tracking how America’s hourly workers actually feel, the happiest people punching the clock are in the marijuana business. Yep, weed wins again.
Based on over 1.5 million anonymous surveys collected between April 2024 and April 2025, the report ranks employee sentiment across industries and states. The top dog? A curious category labeled “Tobacco, E-Cigarette & Marijuana,” a strange corporate ménage à trois of vice, vapor and vibe.
A whopping 91.87% of shift workers in that bundle said they felt good or amazing at the end of their day.
But here’s the kicker: the report never explains why these wildly different sectors, with opposite reputations, regulatory frameworks and cultural roots, are grouped together. Cannabis is still federally illegal and rooted in wellness, activism and counterculture. Tobacco? Let’s just say it has a very different legacy.
So… are we witnessing a “cannabis happiness effect”? Or is weed just being dragged into a smoky backroom with Marlboro and Juul?
Either way, that number beats out coffee shop workers (89.73%), gym staff (89.28%) and even dental assistants (89.53%).
So why are cannabis workers so damn happy?
Let’s be real. It’s not just the product (although, yeah… it probably helps).
The cannabis industry is still relatively young. That means operators are building companies from scratch, often with a focus on culture, wages, purpose and respect. Many cannabis companies are founded by people who hated their old jobs. They remember what it’s like to be mistreated, underpaid or ghosted by management. And they try not to repeat the cycle.
Also, there’s something deeply satisfying about working in weed. It’s medicine, it’s wellness, it’s culture, it’s rebellion, it’s healing. You don’t need an MBA in employee retention to figure out that people stick around when they believe in what they’re doing and when they’re not getting yelled at by customers over expired coupons.
From burnout to blunt-force joy
Compare that to the bottom of the list. Shift workers in Pharmacies, Postal Services, Hospitals and Doctors’ Offices reported some of the highest levels of stress, frustration and unhappiness.
Turns out, stuffing prescriptions behind bulletproof glass or sprinting through 12-hour ER shifts during a poly-crisis is not a vibe. One in seven pharmacy workers said they’re unhappy. In North Dakota, the unhappiest state in the rankings, 20% of shift workers clock out mad. That’s one in five folks going home grumpy.
Meanwhile, in cannabis shops across the U.S., budtenders are smiling through the haze, stocking shelves of terpy goodness, educating curious customers and probably listening to really good playlists.
Not just a stoner stereotype
Before you say, “Well, yeah, they’re high,” hold up.
This report is based on real-time, end-of-shift surveys. These are people who just worked a full day on their feet. They hit a button that says “Good” or “Amazing” before heading home; not because they’re baked, but because they feel supported. And that’s rare.
Whether it’s better scheduling, chill team vibes or the sense that they’re building something meaningful, cannabis workers are outpacing the rest of the economy in morale. It’s proof that legalization doesn’t just benefit patients and consumers; it’s changing lives inside the industry too.
Takeaways for the rest of the working world?
Maybe it’s time to stop asking “How do we make workers happier?” and start asking “Why aren’t we more like the cannabis industry?”
More flexibility. More purpose. More transparency. More respect. Oh yeah… and fewer khakis.
Photo: Shutterstock
