CHOOSING friends and lovers is far easier than choosing a career. After all, you know instantly whether or not you click with someone and whether you fancy spending more time with them.

Jobs, on the other hand, are an altogether trickier affair.

After slaving away for years, optimistically hoping you'll find happiness and fulfilment at work, you suddenly realise that not only do you hate what you're doing, you feel totally out of place doing it.

If you're finding the comfort and contentment' factor strangely elusive at work, you're certainly not alone.

According to brand new research by BUPA, a staggering 75 per cent of Brits could be doing the wrong jobs for their personality.

Imagine active types ending up deskbound, or natural leaders being forced to follow the crowd.

Going against the natural course of things can be stifling, oppressive and soul-destroying - not exactly the best route to success for anyone.

Those on Bournemouth, Bristol and Southampton appear to be the most at drift', unsure of the direction their lives are going in, while people in Sheffield and Carlisle seem much more sorted, boasting a greater sure-footedness about their career paths.

But is it really the end of the world to forget about all those idealistic aspirations we used to have, and to wake up to the reality that taking the rough with the smooth is the only way forward, as with everything else in life?

Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman thinks that ignoring our strengths, aptitudes and dreams could spell disaster. "It is important to understand our individual personalities in order to find the right fit," he explained.

"Failure to do so means you could spend great chunks of life feeling like a square peg in a round hole."

And nobody wants to feel like they don't belong. It makes you feel like a fraud who's not being true to themselves, or to anyone else.

We all know people who constantly bemoan their jobs and when we hear them whinging we tend to assume it's because all those tedious little chores are getting on top of them, or that their boss is a nightmare and their colleagues are dull and boring.

But BUPA's study suggests their misery could be down to spending all day dedicating time and energy to something that simply doesn't suit their personality.

The statistics show that 40 per cent of bankers and accountants are warm and people-orientated, despite their reputation for being tough and ruthless.

And contrary to what you might expect, creative types working in the arts come top of the class for being strong and assertive leaders, while only six per cent were identified as expressive and eccentric.

Researchers also found that 40 per cent of secretaries have the personality of leaders, while many politicians and civil servants are somewhat lacking in people skills, logic and powers of analysis.

These are just a few examples of how badly people can misjudge their own characteristics.

Dr Aric Sigman said: "As this research shows, most people simply don't know themselves very well.

"No wonder latest government statistics show that only 17 per cent of people never feel stressed at work."

However, although it looks like many of us haven't got a clue about the types of job we'd be well suited to, there is hope that at least some of us are getting it right. The educators of the world, together with those in healthcare, appear to be bucking the trend with a contented 60 per cent of them being in exactly the right profession.

Clicking with work can create as big a buzz as clicking with a new friend or potential partner.

Similarly, a less than perfect job can make slogging away all day a truly horrible experience that eats away at your confidence and self-esteem, often rendering you incapable of ever getting out.

So next time you're fretting about the number of boring work chores you have to wade through, or find yourself dreading going into the office, try taking a step back from it all to establish whether it's a momentary blip or an ongoing scenario.

You could simply be a square peg trying to squeeze into a round hole.