Work Context Index
Jobs with the fewest conflict situations
O*NET asks people in every occupation "How frequently are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job?" and publishes the mean answer on a 1-to-5 scale. This page lists the 25 occupations whose mean sits lowest, with the BLS wage, education and outlook for each.
Which jobs involve the fewest conflict situations?
Across the 894 occupations O*NET 30.3 rates, the 25 lowest for Conflict Situations average between 1.42 and 1.92 on O*NET's 1-to-5 scale, where 1 means "Never" and 5 means "Every day"; the median across all occupations is 2.85. Lowest are Cutters and Trimmers, Hand (1.42), Rock Splitters, Quarry (1.43), Manicurists and Pedicurists (1.44). Their median BLS wage is $51,130 (2025, 25 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 21 of the 25 with BLS education data typically need less than a bachelor's degree.
- Occupations compared
- 894 O*NET 30.3 occupations with published Work Context ratings
- What O*NET asks incumbents
- Conflict Situations: "How frequently are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job?"
- Scale
- 1 = Never; 3 = Once a month or more but not every week; 5 = Every day. Values are mean incumbent ratings.
- Wage and outlook source
- BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, Table 1.2 Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics, 2025 (Employment in thousands). 3 of the 25 occupations listed have a dedicated RoleSprint page.
Source and method
O*NET 30.3 Database (Work Context), U.S. Department of Labor, and BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Verified 2026-09-05. Ratings are reproduced from O*NET as published mean incumbent responses on each question's own 1-to-5 scale. Percentile ranks, composite averages and the resulting order are RoleSprint's computation and are described on the methodology page. Wage, education and outlook fields are reproduced from BLS for the matching SOC code and left blank where BLS publishes no line item.
The 25 occupations
Ordered by mean rating for Conflict Situations, lowest first. Scale: 1 = Never; 5 = Every day.
| # | Occupation | O*NET value | Rank | BLS wage and education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cutters and Trimmers, Hand O*NET-SOC 51-9031.00 | 1.42 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $38,020 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -18.9% 2025-35 |
| 2 | Rock Splitters, Quarry O*NET-SOC 47-5051.00 | 1.43 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $48,740 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +5.8% 2025-35 |
| 3 | Manicurists and Pedicurists O*NET-SOC 39-5092.00 | 1.44 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $35,760 median (2025) Postsecondary nondegree award · +9.2% 2025-35 |
| 4 | Food Preparation Workers O*NET-SOC 35-2021.00 | 1.65 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $35,320 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -3% 2025-35 |
| 5 | Animal Breeders O*NET-SOC 45-2021.00 | 1.65 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $51,130 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3% 2025-35 |
| 6 | Slaughterers and Meat Packers O*NET-SOC 51-3023.00 | 1.71 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $40,130 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +2% 2025-35 |
| 7 | Software Developers O*NET-SOC 15-1252.00 | 1.72 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $135,980 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +10.2% 2025-35 |
| 8 | Tile and Stone Setters O*NET-SOC 47-2044.00 | 1.72 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $55,690 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +9.8% 2025-35 |
| 9 | Food Batchmakers O*NET-SOC 51-3092.00 | 1.73 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $42,290 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +6.5% 2025-35 |
| 10 | Models O*NET-SOC 41-9012.00 | 1.73 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $48,470 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -2.1% 2025-35 |
| 11 | Fallers O*NET-SOC 45-4021.00 | 1.77 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $52,100 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -9.9% 2025-35 |
| 12 | Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4034.00 | 1.78 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $50,620 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -11.3% 2025-35 |
| 13 | Craft Artists O*NET-SOC 27-1012.00 | 1.78 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $46,080 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +2% 2025-35 |
| 14 | Social Science Research Assistants O*NET-SOC 19-4061.00 | 1.82 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $61,990 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +5% 2025-35 |
| 15 | Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse O*NET-SOC 45-2092.00 | 1.84 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $35,660 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -2.4% 2025-35 |
| 16 | Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles O*NET-SOC 47-2042.00 | 1.84 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $56,460 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +9% 2025-35 |
| 17 | Watch and Clock Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-9064.00 | 1.86 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $67,230 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -0.3% 2025-35 |
| 18 | Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters O*NET-SOC 51-2061.00 | 1.88 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $62,620 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -6.1% 2025-35 |
| 19 | Shampooers O*NET-SOC 39-5093.00 | 1.90 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $32,600 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +5.6% 2025-35 |
| 20 | Floor Sanders and Finishers O*NET-SOC 47-2043.00 | 1.90 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $50,440 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +1.4% 2025-35 |
| 21 | Mathematicians O*NET-SOC 15-2021.00 | 1.90 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $126,710 median (2025) Master's degree · +0.6% 2025-35 |
| 22 | Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians O*NET-SOC 49-3041.00 | 1.91 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $56,550 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +10.7% 2025-35 |
| 23 | Biological Technicians O*NET-SOC 19-4021.00 | 1.92 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $57,510 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +7.4% 2025-35 |
| 24 | Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers O*NET-SOC 53-7072.00 | 1.92 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $61,770 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4.3% 2025-35 |
| 25 | Model Makers, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4061.00 | 1.92 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $63,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -17.3% 2025-35 |
Values are mean ratings from O*NET 30.3; most come from surveys of people in the occupation, some from occupational experts, and some for newer occupations from O*NET analysts. Wage, education and outlook are from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 for the matching SOC code and are blank where BLS publishes no line item.
How this was measured
Conflict Situations (O*NET element 4.C.1.d.1). The question put to incumbents: “How frequently are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job?”
- 1
Never
- 2
Once a year or more but not every month
- 3
Once a month or more but not every week
- 4
Once a week or more but not every day
- 5
Every day
894 of 894 occupations have a published, unsuppressed value for this element. The percentile beside each occupation is its position among them.
The full method, including how ties are broken and what the data cannot tell you, is on the methodology page.
Narrow the list with BLS data
Each variant keeps the same measure and restricts the occupations by a published BLS threshold. A variant exists only where the restriction actually changes the list rather than the heading; the combinations that left the answer much as it was were not published.
Combine this with other conditions
The explorer ranks all occupations on any set of measures you choose, with the same values and the same arithmetic as this page.
Open the explorer with this selectionThis page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. RoleSprint has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Wage, education and outlook figures are reproduced from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What to do next
These rankings describe occupations in general. The next question is whether a specific opening in one of them actually matches what you can show, and that is answered by comparing the posting with your resume.