## Did you know that...

...genetic background can also affect our success at work? In 2022, behavioural geneticists addressed the question of the extent to which genes might be related to socio-economic status, which is considered a prerequisite for psychological well-being and health. By incorporating information from available employment sources into a genetic database, scientists were able to perform a genome-wide association study on over 200,000 people of European descent. With such an approach, they obtained a large sample, which solved the frequent problem of association studies with data availability. They focused on six main characteristics that can influence success – work complexity, independence, innovativeness, informational, emotional and physical demands. They managed to identify 16 loci and some polymorphisms that could be related to the relevant characteristics, as well as their connection to education, employment or salary achieved. While the complexity of work, innovativeness and IT skills were associated with higher income, on the contrary, emotional or physical demands were mainly associated with health and a sense of well-being. But the authors point out that genetic variants cannot miraculously affect our success in employment. As was often mentioned in the chapter, genetic influences are also mediated and guided by environmental factors.