tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/life-satisfaction-3369/articlesLife satisfaction – The Conversation2023-11-05T19:13:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2151472023-11-05T19:13:05Z2023-11-05T19:13:05ZHomeowners often feel better about life than renters, but not always – whether you are mortgaged matters<p>Homeownership has long been thought of as the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-23/why-australians-are-obsessed-with-owning-property/8830976">great Australian dream</a>. For individuals, it’s seen as the path to adulthood and prosperity. For the nation, it’s seen as a cornerstone of economic and social policy.</p>
<p>Implicit in this is the assumption that owning a home rather than renting one makes people better off.</p>
<p>It’s an assumption we are now able to examine using data from the government-funded <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/hilda">Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia</a> (HILDA) survey, which for two decades has asked questions both about homeownership and satisfaction with life.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/4694137/ContinuingPersonQuestionnaireW23M.pdf">overarching question</a> asks</p>
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<p>all things considered, how satisfied are you with your life? Pick a number between 0 and 10 to indicate how satisfied you are</p>
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<p>We also looked at people’s satisfaction with their financial situation, their home and the neighbourhood in which they live.</p>
<p>In a study published in the journal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00420980231190479">Urban Studies</a>, we linked those answers to home ownership and characteristics including age and income.</p>
<p>As expected, we found homeowners were generally more satisfied with their lives than renters. But we also find the extent to which they were more satisfied depended on whether or not they were still paying off a mortgage.</p>
<h2>Mortgaged homeowners about as satisfied as renters</h2>
<p>Outright home owners were 1.5 times as likely to report high overall satisfaction as renters. But home owners still paying off a mortgage were only a little more likely to feel high overall satisfaction. </p>
<p>Similarly, outright owners were 2.3 times as likely to report high financial satisfaction as renters – but mortgaged owners were only 1.1 times as likely.</p>
<p>When it comes to satisfaction with their home and neighbourhood, the differences were less extreme. </p>
<p>Outright home owners were 3.1 times as likely to report high satisfaction with their home as renters, while mortgaged owners were 2.8 times as likely. </p>
<p>Outright owners were 1.6 times as likely to report high satisfaction with their neighbourhood as renters, and mortgaged owners 1.4 times as likely.</p>
<p>The results also varied with age and income.</p>
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<p>As shown in the graph above, outright owners were more likely to report high financial satisfaction than renters across almost the entire age range.</p>
<p>But mortgaged owners only showed a demonstrably greater financial satisfaction than renters between the ages of 25 and 50. </p>
<p>Beyond age 50, the existence of a mortgage debt burden appeared to cancel out any boost to financial satisfaction from homeownership. This potentially reflects the growing financial stress of making mortgage payments as retirement approaches.</p>
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<p>By income, mortgaged owners reported experiencing more financial satisfaction compared to renters the more they earned between A$80,000 and A$240,000. Outright owners experienced more financial satisfaction than renters up to A$320,000. </p>
<p>Beyond these income levels, owners did not have greater financial satisfaction than renters, perhaps because high-earning renters have other sources of financial satisfaction.</p>
<h2>How satisfied people feel beyond 60</h2>
<p>In other respects, outright owners and mortgaged homeowners showed similar patterns, becoming more satisfied with their homes relative to renters the more they age up – until the age of 60. That’s when their satisfaction relative to renters declined, as illustrated below. </p>
<p>This decline might reflect the growing physical burden of maintaining an owned home as people age.</p>
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<p>Our study has important implications. One is that age matters.</p>
<p>Although older people consistently express a desire to <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/analysis/brief/whats-needed-make-ageing-place-work-older-australians">age in place</a>, we found satisfaction among those who owned vs rented their home declined beyond age 60. This suggests better integration between housing and care is critical to support people ageing in place. </p>
<p>Another implication is that as low-income owners are more reliant on their homes as a source of relative financial satisfaction than high earners, they are <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-social-policy/article/housing-equity-withdrawal-perceptions-of-obstacles-among-older-australian-home-owners-and-associated-service-providers/268F54A8EAA1E9ECA118E243505AA9FD">more exposed</a> in times of crisis. They may face the risk of being forced to sell suddenly with little time to consider the consequences.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-housing-wealth-gap-between-older-and-younger-australians-has-widened-alarmingly-in-the-past-30-years-heres-why-197027">The housing wealth gap between older and younger Australians has widened alarmingly in the past 30 years. Here's why</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>And another implication is as the relative financial satisfaction of mortgage holders disappears after the age of 50, and as more of us approach retirement with mortgages intact, more of us will either <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00420980211026578">postpone retirement</a> or become dissatisfied.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest the extension of mortgage debt into later life should be discouraged if the benefits of the Australian dream are to be preserved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Ong ViforJ is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (project FT200100422). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hiroaki Suenaga and Ryan Brierty do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We found people who own their home outright were 1.5 times as likely to be highly satisfied with life as renters. But it can be a different story if you have a mortgage – especially if you’re 50-plus.Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin UniversityHiroaki Suenaga, Senior Lecturer School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Curtin UniversityRyan Brierty, PhD candidate, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2045662023-04-26T16:51:59Z2023-04-26T16:51:59ZSouth Africans are fed up with their prospects, and their democracy, according to latest social attitudes survey<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523014/original/file-20230426-28-q31z4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">29 years of democracy has left its mark.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rather battered and frayed South African flag billowing in the wind against a cloud-strewn sky.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The mood among South Africans has soured. The latest findings from the representative <a href="http://archivesite.hsrc.ac.za/en/departments/sasas?_gl=1*1fljwft*_ga*MTM3MDA1OTM4MS4xNjgyNTI1Mjc2*_ga_6KN2L6JN85*MTY4MjUyNTI3NS4xLjEuMTY4MjUyNTI5MC4wLjAuMA..*_ga_8T91XDZ2CX*MTY4MjUyNTI3NS4xLjEuMTY4MjUyNTI5MC4wLjAuMA..&_ga=2.78387604.1479165019.1682525277-1370059381.1682525276">survey</a> that’s done every year by the country’s Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) shows some disturbing new trends.</p>
<p>The most marked are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>a decline in <a href="https://hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/1607/How%20South%20Africans%20Rate%20Their%20Quality%20of%20Life.pdf">levels of life satisfaction</a> as a whole</p></li>
<li><p>a downturn in people’s views about what lies ahead in their lives</p></li>
<li><p>a growing sense of despondency, and </p></li>
<li><p>a declining satisfaction with democracy.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The sense of hopelessness and despondency with democracy that emerges from the survey does not bode well for the future of the country’s democracy. As the survey shows, as despondency increases, so too does a sense of hopelessness.</p>
<p>The 2021 <a href="http://archivesite.hsrc.ac.za/en/departments/sasas?_gl=1*1fljwft*_ga*MTM3MDA1OTM4MS4xNjgyNTI1Mjc2*_ga_6KN2L6JN85*MTY4MjUyNTI3NS4xLjEuMTY4MjUyNTI5MC4wLjAuMA..*_ga_8T91XDZ2CX*MTY4MjUyNTI3NS4xLjEuMTY4MjUyNTI5MC4wLjAuMA..&_ga=2.78387604.1479165019.1682525277-1370059381.1682525276">survey</a> – with the most recent available results – consisted of 2,996 South Africans aged 16 years and older living in private residences. The data were benchmarked and weighted to be representative of the adult population.</p>
<p>The survey echoes key points in our forthcoming work on life satisfaction and democracy in the Human Science Research Council’s flagship publication, <a href="https://hsrc.ac.za/special-projects/sasas/">State of the Nation</a>. This details increasing life dissatisfaction amid growing unhappiness with democracy and despondency. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africans-hold-contradictory-views-about-their-democracy-159647">South Africans hold contradictory views about their democracy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Based on our two decade involvement in <a href="https://hsrc.ac.za/special-projects/sasas/">social attitudes</a> research in South Africa, we argued that while South Africans were increasingly unhappy with democracy, their levels of life satisfaction remained stable. But we are now noting a significant decline in life satisfaction in the context of increased democratic despondency, weak political efficacy and mediocre service delivery.</p>
<p>It is this sense of hopelessness that could potentially signal political instability in the future.</p>
<h2>What are people are saying</h2>
<p>The Social Attitudes Survey is a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey. Conducted annually since 2003, it measures underlying public perceptions, values and social fabric in South African society. </p>
<p>The survey represents a notable tool for monitoring evolving social, economic and political values among South Africans. We also believe it shows promising use as a predictive mechanism that could inform decision makers and policy-making processes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-1994-miracle-whats-left-159495">South Africa's 1994 'miracle': what's left?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The most recent survey results show a marked downturn in the mood in the country since 2021, most notably around life satisfaction and future life improvement or optimism. </p>
<p><strong>A downturn in life satisfaction:</strong> South Africans show a recent downturn in their general life satisfaction, a measure that has remained relatively stable over the last 18 or so years (Figure 1). When asked to reflect on their current personal life circumstances, only 41% were satisfied with their lives in late 2021 compared to 52% in 2014. This is a significant decline for a measure that is usually quite stable. </p>
<p>This points to appreciable strain on life satisfaction, something that is likely to be more acutely felt among poor and vulnerable citizens.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522968/original/file-20230426-742-hp6qm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522968/original/file-20230426-742-hp6qm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522968/original/file-20230426-742-hp6qm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522968/original/file-20230426-742-hp6qm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522968/original/file-20230426-742-hp6qm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522968/original/file-20230426-742-hp6qm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522968/original/file-20230426-742-hp6qm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong>Outlook on future life:</strong> Trends in the outlook South Africans have for their future in the medium term also highlight despondency and hopelessness (Figure 2). In 2014, 44% felt their lives would improve over the next five years. In late 2021 this had fallen to 29%. The number who felt that life would worsen rose from 25% in 2014 to 39% in 2021. Those who believed that their situation would remain unchanged fluctuated between 22% and 30% over this period. </p>
<p>The 2021 results suggest that a threshold has been crossed, with a pessimistic outlook becoming more dominant than an optimistic one.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522969/original/file-20230426-14-zownio.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522969/original/file-20230426-14-zownio.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522969/original/file-20230426-14-zownio.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522969/original/file-20230426-14-zownio.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522969/original/file-20230426-14-zownio.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522969/original/file-20230426-14-zownio.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522969/original/file-20230426-14-zownio.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong>A sense of despondency:</strong> This was observed across all race and gender groups. But from a age profile perspective, older people held more negative views on future life optimism (Figure 3).</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522970/original/file-20230426-16-27qhcp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522970/original/file-20230426-16-27qhcp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522970/original/file-20230426-16-27qhcp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522970/original/file-20230426-16-27qhcp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522970/original/file-20230426-16-27qhcp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522970/original/file-20230426-16-27qhcp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522970/original/file-20230426-16-27qhcp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<h2>The drivers</h2>
<p>Our analysis shows that personal future outlook of South Africans is strongly shaped by factors relating to the government performance evaluations, trust in institutions and general democratic evaluations.</p>
<p>Those with a more positive outlook were also more satisfied with government efforts at delivering a range of serives. These included the provision of water, sanitation and electricity, tackling crime and corruption, as well as job creation and social grants. </p>
<p>Those who thought these services were sliding had a more negative outlook.</p>
<p>Similarly, those expressing trust in national and local government, parliament, the Independent Electoral Commission, political parties and politicians all reported a sunnier outlook than those who were more sceptical.</p>
<p>As an example of the scale of these effects, in Figure 4 below, we present the scale of difference in the share offering positive future expectations based on those that are satisfied and dissatisfied with democracy. On average over the 2014-2021 period, the difference between these two groups is 28 percentage points, rising to a high of 33 percentage points in 2021.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522972/original/file-20230426-20-m0lbdx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522972/original/file-20230426-20-m0lbdx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522972/original/file-20230426-20-m0lbdx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522972/original/file-20230426-20-m0lbdx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522972/original/file-20230426-20-m0lbdx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522972/original/file-20230426-20-m0lbdx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522972/original/file-20230426-20-m0lbdx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<h2>Democracy outlook</h2>
<p>Up until 2020 there was evidence that South Africans, in common with other citizens across the subcontinent and Latin America, conventionally took a more optimistic view of the future through expressing that life would get better in the next five years.</p>
<p>However, as democratic despondency increases, so too does a sense of hopelessness in South Africans. </p>
<p>This begs the question of whether the Freedom Day 2023 mood should be a celebratory one, or one of sober reflection, and re-commitment to the social compact and spirit of accountability and government responsiveness that characterised the dream of 1994.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204566/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joleen Steyn Kotze receives funding from National Research Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Roberts receives funding from various government and non-governmental agencies for commissioned content in each annual round of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS). </span></em></p>A threshold has been crossed, with a pessimistic outlook becoming more dominant than an optimistic one.Joleen Steyn Kotze, Chief Research Specialist in Democracy and Citizenship at the Human Science Research Council and a Research Fellow Centre for African Studies, University of the Free StateBenjamin Roberts, Research Director: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) research division, and Coordinator of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), Human Sciences Research CouncilLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1862502022-07-11T15:37:38Z2022-07-11T15:37:38ZHow much money do people want to achieve their ideal life? Our research gave a surprising result<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472831/original/file-20220706-18-pjb2in.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=197%2C98%2C8045%2C5388&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How much money would you have to win in a lottery to achieve your ideal life?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-crazy-funky-funny-oold-bearded-1495944458">Roman Samborskyi / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Money can’t buy happiness. Many of us are told this at some point in our lives, but that doesn’t seem to stop many people from wanting more of it – even very rich people. The question is, how much money do we each need to satisfy our desires?</p>
<p>Economists often treat people as having unlimited economic wants but limited resources to satisfy them – a foundational economic concept known as <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/scarcity.asp">scarcity</a>. This idea is often presented as a basic fact about human nature. Our <a href="https://rdcu.be/cPNcD">recently published research</a> found instead that only a minority of people actually have unlimited wants, and that most would be happy with a limited, if still significant, sum of money.</p>
<p><a href="https://rdcu.be/cPNcD">We surveyed people about this issue in 33 countries</a> spanning all inhabited continents, obtaining responses from about 8,000 people in total. We encouraged participants to focus on what it would mean to have all their wants fulfilled by asking them to imagine their “absolutely ideal life”, without worrying about whether it was realistically achievable. </p>
<p>To assess economic wants, we asked people to consider how much money they wanted in this ideal life. But money rarely comes for free, and we thought their responses could be influenced by what they imagine it would take to obtain large amounts of money – working long hours, high-risk investments, or even criminality. </p>
<p>So we made it about chance, by asking them to choose a prize in a hypothetical lottery. They were told the chances of winning each lottery were the same so their choice was about how much money they wanted in their ideal lives, not which lottery they were most likely to win.</p>
<p>The lottery prizes started at US$10,000 (converted to local currencies, so £8,000 for UK participants) with options increasing by a multiple of 10. At the time we ran the study, the top prize of US$100 billion would have made them the richest person in the world. </p>
<h2>Who wants to be a billionaire?</h2>
<p>Our prediction was straightforward: if people truly have unlimited wants, they should always choose the maximum US$100 billion. But in all 33 countries, only a minority chose the top prize (8% to 39% in each country). In most countries, including the UK, the majority of people chose a lottery equivalent to US$10 million or less, and in some countries (India, Russia) the majority even chose US$1 million or less.</p>
<p>We also wanted to understand differences between people with limited and unlimited wants. Our analyses ruled out many personal factors – responses didn’t vary meaningfully by gender, education, or socioeconomic status. However, more younger people reported unlimited wants than older people, although this varied across countries. In less economically developed countries, the influence of age was weaker.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Neck-down photo of woman with lots of colourful shopping bags on her arms." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472845/original/file-20220706-22-ndntzh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472845/original/file-20220706-22-ndntzh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472845/original/file-20220706-22-ndntzh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472845/original/file-20220706-22-ndntzh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472845/original/file-20220706-22-ndntzh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472845/original/file-20220706-22-ndntzh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472845/original/file-20220706-22-ndntzh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unlimited wants and consumerism are bad for the planet – but most people want less than you’d imagine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-holding-shopping-bag-mall-626081396">PaO_STUDIO / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also examined cultural differences using an widely used model of major <a href="http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/hofstede.htm">dimensions of cultural difference</a>. We found that more people chose the US$100 billion lottery in countries where there was greater acceptance of inequality in society (called “power distance”), and where there was more focus on group life (called “collectivism”). </p>
<p>For example, Indonesia is high in power distance and collectivism and almost 40% of the Indonesian sample chose US$100 billion. The UK is relatively low on collectivism and power distance, and fewer than 20% chose the maximum lottery prize. </p>
<p>Finally, we asked people about the most important change they would make if they won the prize, as well as to rank different values that were important to them, such as having power or helping others. Here there was some inconsistency. People with unlimited wants were more likely to tell us they would use the money to help others, but in terms of values they were no more concerned with helping others than those with limited wants. </p>
<h2>The consequences of (un)limited wants</h2>
<p>Assuming people have unlimited economic wants provides a rationale for policies that prioritise economic growth, <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/knowledgebank/why-does-economic-growth-matter">such as interest rate policies</a>, to allow people to achieve as many wants as possible. But the never-ending pursuit of wealth and growth has <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16941-y">increasingly damaging consequences for our world</a>.</p>
<p>Showing that unlimited wants is not a human universal, and that the level of people’s wants varies with values and culture, suggests they are open to social influence. Advertisers already know this, spending huge amounts to try to convince us to want things we previously neither knew nor cared about. Even some <a href="https://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2006/04/john_kenneth_ga.html">economists have questioned</a> whether wants produced by marketing should really be called wants. </p>
<p>The results of this research give us hope that human nature is not fundamentally at odds with sustainable living. Many are paying more attention to how to improve and even reorient society to live fulfilling lives without <a href="https://timjackson.org.uk/ecological-economics/pwg/">exhausting our planet’s resources</a>. Understanding the lives and motivations of people with limited economic wants may teach us something about how to achieve this.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186250/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Bain received funding that supported this research from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>New research shows that humans don’t necessarily have unlimited wants, and that an ‘ideal life’ costs less than you might think.Paul Bain, Reader in Psychology, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1737202022-01-20T13:46:04Z2022-01-20T13:46:04ZThe better you are at math, the more money seems to influence your satisfaction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441590/original/file-20220119-23-mo0nsn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C139%2C4787%2C3063&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Being better at math increases income but also ties satisfaction more closely to money.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-throwing-dollar-bills-in-the-air-arms-raised-in-royalty-free-image/200381413-001?adppopup=true"> Jonathan Kitchen/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Your grade school math teacher probably told you that being good at math would be very important to your grownup self. But maybe the younger you didn’t believe that at the time. A lot of research, though, has shown that <a href="https://theconversation.com/people-who-are-bad-with-numbers-often-find-it-harder-to-make-ends-meet-even-if-they-are-not-poor-172272">your teacher was right</a>. </p>
<p>We are two researchers who study decision-making and how it relates to wealth and happiness. In a study published in November 2021, we found that, in general, people who are better at math <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259331">make more money and are more satisfied with their lives</a> than people who aren’t as mathematically talented. But being good at math seems to be a double-edged sword. Although math-proficient people are very satisfied when they have high incomes, they are more dissatisfied, compared to those who aren’t as good at math, when they don’t make a lot of money. </p>
<p>Many researchers have suggested that more money only increases <a href="https://qz.com/1503207/a-nobel-prize-winning-psychologist-defines-happiness-versus-satisfaction/">life satisfaction and happiness</a> up to a certain point. Our research modifies this idea by showing that satisfaction derived from income relates strongly to how good a person is at math. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441600/original/file-20220119-27-1kh4idi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person holding a pencil above a sheet of paper." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441600/original/file-20220119-27-1kh4idi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441600/original/file-20220119-27-1kh4idi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441600/original/file-20220119-27-1kh4idi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441600/original/file-20220119-27-1kh4idi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441600/original/file-20220119-27-1kh4idi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441600/original/file-20220119-27-1kh4idi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441600/original/file-20220119-27-1kh4idi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nearly 6,000 people responded to a survey that asked about math skills, income and life satisfaction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/student-taking-math-quiz-cropped-royalty-free-image/97612935?adppopup=true">PhotoAlto/Odilon Dimier via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A math and happiness test</h2>
<p>We investigated the relationship between math ability, income and life satisfaction, using surveys sent to 5,748 diverse Americans as part of the <a href="https://uasdata.usc.edu/index.php">Understanding America Study</a>.</p>
<p>The study included two questions and one test relevant to our research. One question asked participants about their household yearly income. Another one asked respondents to rate how satisfied they are with their lives on a scale of zero to 10.</p>
<p>Finally, people answered eight math questions that varied in difficulty to get a sense of their math skills. For example, one of the moderately difficult questions was: “Jerry received both the 15th highest and the 15th lowest mark in the class. How many students are in the class?” The correct answer is 29 students.</p>
<p>We then combined the results to see how they all related to one another. </p>
<p>Math skills and income also are tied to <a href="https://theconversation.com/money-buys-even-more-happiness-than-it-used-to-141766">level of education,</a> so, in our analyses, we controlled for education, verbal intelligence, personality traits and other demographics.</p>
<h2>Connecting math skills to income and satisfaction</h2>
<p>On average, the better a person was at math, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259331">more money they made</a>. For every one additional right answer on the eight-question math test, people reported an average of $4,062 more in annual income. </p>
<p>Imagine you have two people with the same level of education, one of whom answered none of the math questions correctly and the other answered all of them correctly. Our research predicts that the person who answered all of the questions correctly will earn about $30,000 more each year.</p>
<p>The survey also showed that people who are better at math were, on average, also more satisfied with their lives than those with lower math ability. This finding agrees with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/0002828041464551">a lot of other research</a> and suggests that income influences life satisfaction.</p>
<p>But prior research has shown that the relationship between income and satisfaction is not as straightforward as “more money equals greater happiness.” It turns out that how satisfied a person is with their income often depends on how they feel it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610362671">compares to other people’s incomes</a>.</p>
<p>Other research has also shown that people who are better at math tend to make <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190861094.001.0001">more numerical comparisons</a> in general than those who are worse at math. This led our team to suspect that math-proficient people would compare incomes more, too. Our results seem to show just that. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439268/original/file-20220104-15-15r038f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph correlating math skills to life satisfaction and income." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439268/original/file-20220104-15-15r038f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439268/original/file-20220104-15-15r038f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439268/original/file-20220104-15-15r038f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439268/original/file-20220104-15-15r038f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439268/original/file-20220104-15-15r038f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=645&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439268/original/file-20220104-15-15r038f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=645&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439268/original/file-20220104-15-15r038f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=645&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This chart shows that people who scored highest on the math test (red line) appear to be happiest when they make a lot of money (top right of graph), but also the least satisfied when they make less money (bottom left of graph). Different color lines correspond to the number of math questions answered correctly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ellen Peters, Pär Bjälkebring</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Simply put, the better a person was at math, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259331">more they cared about how much money they make</a>. People who are better at math had the highest life satisfaction when they had high incomes. But deriving satisfaction from income goes both ways. These people also had the lowest life satisfaction when they had lower incomes. Among people who aren’t as good at math, income didn’t relate to satisfaction nearly as much. Thus, the same income was valued differently depending on a person’s math skills.</p>
<h2>Money does buy happiness for some</h2>
<p>An often-quoted fact – backed up by research – says that once a person makes around $95,000 a year, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0277-0">earning more money doesn’t dramatically increase satisfaction</a>. This concept is called <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0277-0?mod=article_inline">income satiation</a>. Our research challenges that blanket statement.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>Interestingly, the people who are best at math did not seem to show income satiation. They were more and more satisfied with more income, and there didn’t appear to be an upper limit. This did not hold true for people who weren’t as talented at math. The least math-proficient group gained more satisfaction from income only until about $50,000. After that, earning more money made little difference.</p>
<p>For some, money does seem to buy happiness. While more work needs to be done to really understand why, we think it may be because math-oriented people compare numbers – including incomes – to make sense of the world. And maybe that’s not always a great thing. In comparison, those who are worse at math appear to derive life satisfaction from sources other than income. So if you are feeling dissatisfied with your income, maybe seeing beyond the numbers will be a winning strategy for you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173720/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pär Bjälkebring receives funding from Swedish Research Council (VR; DNR-2016-00507). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ellen Peters receives funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation and USAFacts.</span></em></p>Compared to people who aren’t as good at math, people who are better at math are more happy when they have high incomes and less happy when they have lower incomes.Pär Bjälkebring, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of GothenburgEllen Peters, Director, Center for Science Communication Research, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1740092022-01-09T13:16:40Z2022-01-09T13:16:40ZHow social media can crush your self-esteem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439352/original/file-20220104-15-1n279an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C994%2C567&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Using social media increases our natural tendency to compare ourselves. How does this affect our well-being?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We all have a natural tendency to compare ourselves to others, whether intentionally or not, online or offline. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.76.1.129">Such comparisons help us evaluate our own achievements</a>, skills, personality and our emotions. This, in turn, influences how we see ourselves.</p>
<p>But what impact do these comparisons have on our well-being? It depends on how much comparing we do. </p>
<p>Comparing ourselves on social media to people who are worse off than we are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000204">makes us feel better</a>. Comparing ourselves to people who are doing better than us, however, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000204">makes us feel inferior or inadequate instead</a>. The social media platform we choose also affects our morale, as do crisis situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>As a PhD student in psychology, I am studying incels — men who perceive the rejection of women as the cause of their involuntary celibacy. I believe that social comparison, which plays as much a role in these marginal groups as it does in the general population, affects our general well-being in the age of social media.</p>
<h2>An optimal level of comparison</h2>
<p>The degree of social comparison that individuals carry out is thought to affect the degree of motivation they have. According to a study by researchers at Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, there is an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000204">optimal level of perceived difference between the self and others</a> that maximizes the effects of social comparison.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman sitting on a sofa, holding a cell phone in one hand and holding her head in distress with the other." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439759/original/file-20220106-23-1fjgtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439759/original/file-20220106-23-1fjgtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439759/original/file-20220106-23-1fjgtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439759/original/file-20220106-23-1fjgtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439759/original/file-20220106-23-1fjgtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439759/original/file-20220106-23-1fjgtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439759/original/file-20220106-23-1fjgtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When people compare themselves to others who appear to be better off, they feel inferior, disatisfied or inadequate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Specifically, if we see ourselves as vastly superior to others, we will not be motivated to improve because we already feel that we are in a good position. Yet, if we perceive ourselves as very inferior, we will not be motivated to improve since the goal seems too difficult to achieve.</p>
<p>In other words, the researchers note, beyond or below the optimal level of perceived difference between oneself and another, a person no longer makes any effort. By perceiving oneself as inferior, the individual will experience negative emotions, guilt and lowered pride and self-esteem.</p>
<h2>Unrealistic comparisons on social media</h2>
<p>Social comparisons therefore have consequences both for our behaviour and for our psychological well-being. However, comparing yourself to others at a restaurant dinner does not necessarily have the same effect as comparing yourself to others on Facebook. It is easier to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376482">invent an exciting existence or embellish certain aspects of things on a social media platform than it is in real life</a>.</p>
<p>The advent of social media, which allows us to share content where we always appear in our best light, has led many researchers to consider the possibility that this amplifies unrealistic comparisons.</p>
<p>Research shows that the more time people spend on Facebook and Instagram, the more they compare themselves socially. This social comparison is linked, among other things, to lower self-esteem and higher social anxiety. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A cartoon of a smiling woman on a social media post, but unhappy in real life." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439760/original/file-20220106-25-1u9f04t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439760/original/file-20220106-25-1u9f04t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439760/original/file-20220106-25-1u9f04t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439760/original/file-20220106-25-1u9f04t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439760/original/file-20220106-25-1u9f04t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439760/original/file-20220106-25-1u9f04t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439760/original/file-20220106-25-1u9f04t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many people share only positive moments in their lives on social media.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A study conducted by researchers at the National University of Singapore <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120912488">explains these results</a> by the fact that people generally present positive information about themselves on social media. They can also enhance their appearance by using filters, which create the impression that there is a big difference between themselves and others.</p>
<p>In turn, researchers working at Facebook observed that the more people looked at content where people were sharing positive aspects of their lives on the platform, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376482">the more likely they were to compare themselves to others</a>.</p>
<h2>COVID-19: Less negative social comparison</h2>
<p>However, could the effect of this comparison in a particularly stressful context like the COVID-19 pandemic be different?</p>
<p>A study from researchers at Kore University in Enna, Italy, showed that before lockdowns, high levels of online social comparison were associated with greater distress, loneliness and a less satisfying life. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110486">But this was no longer the case during lockdowns</a>.</p>
<p>One reason for this would be that by comparing themselves to others during the lockdown, people felt they were sharing the same difficult experience. That reduced the negative impact of social comparisons. So, comparing oneself to others online during difficult times can be a positive force for improving relationships and sharing feelings of fear and uncertainty.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Four female friends greeting each other on an online video call." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439761/original/file-20220106-19-19r7g0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439761/original/file-20220106-19-19r7g0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439761/original/file-20220106-19-19r7g0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439761/original/file-20220106-19-19r7g0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439761/original/file-20220106-19-19r7g0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439761/original/file-20220106-19-19r7g0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439761/original/file-20220106-19-19r7g0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The shared difficult experiences of COVID-19 lockdowns reduced the negative impacts of social comparisons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A different effect depending on the social media</h2>
<p>There are distinctions to be made depending on which social media platform a person is using. Researchers at the University of Lorraine, France, consider <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248384">that social media platforms should not be all lumped together</a>.</p>
<p>For example, the use of Facebook and Instagram is associated with lower well-being, while Twitter is associated with more positive emotions and higher life satisfaction. One possible explanation: Facebook and Instagram are known to be places for positive self-presentation, unlike Twitter, where it is more appropriate to share one’s real opinions and emotions.</p>
<p>Trying to get social support on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic may reactivate negative emotions instead of releasing them, depending on which social media platform a person is using.</p>
<p>Many things motivate us to compare ourselves socially. Whether we like it or not, social media exposes us to more of those motivations. Depending on the type of content that is being shared, whether it is positive or negative, we tend to refer to it when we are self-evaluating. Sharing content that makes us feel good about ourselves and garners praise from others is nice, but you have to consider the effect of these posts on others.</p>
<p>Yet overall, I believe that sharing your difficulties in words, pictures or videos can still have positive effects and bring psychological benefits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174009/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sabrina Laplante ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Comparing ourselves to people who are worse off than we are on social media should make us feel better. The opposite is true.Sabrina Laplante, Candidate au doctorat en psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1708772021-11-08T06:34:26Z2021-11-08T06:34:26ZWhy happiness is becoming more expensive and out of reach for many Australians<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430693/original/file-20211108-10171-1sm1wxt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5010%2C3710&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the most well-known findings in the economic study of happiness is that, on average, happiness increases with income, but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jan/07/can-money-buy-happiness">at a certain point diminishing returns set in</a>.</p>
<p>In other words, money can only buy a fixed level of happiness, after which extra income and wealth doesn’t make much difference. Presumably after this point, happiness depends on other things, such as <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/behaviouralscience/2016/01/04/does-money-buy-happiness-it-depends-on-the-context/">health, leisure time, quality of friendships and close family</a>.</p>
<p>Our new study, published in October, found the income level required to be happy in Australia <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235282732100224X">has been increasing and moving out of reach of most Australians</a>.</p>
<p>The happiness of increasing numbers of Australians has become more dependent on income than ever this millennium.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-money-buy-happiness-29570">Can money buy happiness?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Happiness increases with income, to a point</h2>
<p>Nobel prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman first described the change point where extra income begins to matter less for happiness. He found this change point <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/107/38/16489.short">in the United States was US$75,000</a> in 2008.</p>
<p>This was substantially more than the US median income of $52,000 in the same year.</p>
<p>The difference revealed an unacknowledged inequity in the distribution of well-being in the US economy. The happiness of the poorest majority of the US population (<a href="https://dqydj.com/household-income-by-year/">68%</a>) was tied to marginal changes in income, while that of a richer minority (32%) wasn’t.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-paradox-of-happiness-the-more-you-chase-it-the-more-elusive-it-becomes-112217">The paradox of happiness: the more you chase it the more elusive it becomes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But what about fairer, more egalitarian countries with a strong middle-class, like Australia? Since the start of the millennium, Australia has enjoyed a <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/rising-inequality">growing household real income and stable levels of income inequality</a>, better than the US and on <a href="https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm">par with the OECD average</a>.</p>
<p>And the average level of <a href="https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/life-satisfaction/">life-satisfaction</a> in Australia has been reliably higher than the OECD average, as well as the US.</p>
<p>In terms of real income, income inequality and overall life satisfaction, Australia has a stable and solid record.</p>
<p>However, life satisfaction isn’t the same as happiness.</p>
<h2>What did we study?</h2>
<p>We used data from the influential Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/hilda">survey</a>, provided by the Melbourne Institute.</p>
<p>This data show Australia’s average happiness has been declining since 2009.</p>
<p>The annual HILDA survey asks Australians to recall how often they felt happy, joyful, sad, tired or depressed in the last month, in each year since 2001.</p>
<p>The frequency of these feelings is quite different from a single rating of how satisfied you are with your life.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235282732100224X">our study</a>, we combined each person’s frequencies into a single <em>happiness score</em> to see how it changed between 2001 and 2019 in relation to household income.</p>
<p>When people were asked to consider how often they experienced different emotions in the past month, rather than how satisfied they are with their life in general, the average happiness score peaked in 2009 and has declined every year since 2012.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429661/original/file-20211101-19-1akyflf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429661/original/file-20211101-19-1akyflf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429661/original/file-20211101-19-1akyflf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429661/original/file-20211101-19-1akyflf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429661/original/file-20211101-19-1akyflf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429661/original/file-20211101-19-1akyflf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429661/original/file-20211101-19-1akyflf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Household income and life satisfaction have been stable in Australia since 2009, while happiness has been decreasing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">HILDA survey</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What did we find?</h2>
<p>The change point at which the happiness of most Australians no longer strongly depends on income has almost doubled from A$43,000 to A$74,000.</p>
<p>At the same time, the median income has lingered at less than A$50,000 per year since 2009. </p>
<p>The number of Australians on an income below this change point has increased from around 60% to 74%.</p>
<p>These changes have taken place after adjusting for inflation and cost-of-living increases. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430696/original/file-20211108-10121-109l8gj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430696/original/file-20211108-10121-109l8gj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430696/original/file-20211108-10121-109l8gj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430696/original/file-20211108-10121-109l8gj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430696/original/file-20211108-10121-109l8gj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430696/original/file-20211108-10121-109l8gj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430696/original/file-20211108-10121-109l8gj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Average happiness has declined as the population below the income change point has increased.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">HILDA survey</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So what does this trend over time mean?</h2>
<p>Our work shows someone living in the average Australian household earning A$50,000 in 2001 and the equivalent amount in 2019 (adjusted for inflation) has become much less happy over the past two decades.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the happiness of people living in a wealthier household (for example, $80,000 per household) has been largely preserved.</p>
<p>Over the first two decades of this millennium, more and more Australians’ happiness has become dependent on their income, despite high life satisfaction ratings and stable income inequality across households.</p>
<p>These measures of economic well-being and equity, typically published by economic wonks and government policy-makers, aren’t revealing potentially important changes in the underlying marginal return on income across the Australian economy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/so-many-in-the-west-are-depressed-because-theyre-expected-not-to-be-79672">So many in the West are depressed because they're expected not to be</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Income by itself doesn’t explain a large proportion of the variance in happiness, only around 5% (ranging between 1.6% to 14.8% in our study). But it’s still concerning because across the entire population these small changes can be expected to accumulate.</p>
<p>Australians’ happiness is becoming more sensitive to income as the change point has increased. At the same time, incomes are stagnating and happiness levels are declining, which is likely to drive further inequities in well-being between the rich and poor in Australia.</p>
<p>As Australia heads into a post-COVID world and deals with the economic after-effects of the pandemic, our government and its advisers need to pay attention to more than GDP and growth, and ask whether the distribution of well-being and happiness is improving for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170877/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Glozier receives funding from the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (Project ID CE200100025).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Morris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The change point at which the happiness of most Australians no longer strongly depends on income has almost doubled from A$43,000 to A$74,000.Richard Morris, Research scientist, University of SydneyNick Glozier, Professor of Psychological Medicine, BMRI & Disciplne of Psychiatry, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1699882021-10-18T09:14:26Z2021-10-18T09:14:26ZOur sense of wellbeing has been in decline for years – here’s how to turn it around<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427039/original/file-20211018-20-1y6c4z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Looking for light. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/II2ulqB-118">David East/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People’s sense of wellbeing took a dive in the first year of the pandemic, according to <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/measuringnationalwellbeing/april2020tomarch2021">new data</a> published by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS). As lockdowns took effect and people grew fearful about the future, their life satisfaction fell by an average of 4%, while their anxiety rose by 9%. People also became less happy and were more likely to feel that the things they were doing in life weren’t worthwhile. </p>
<p>Lockdown restrictions on social and leisure activity, social-distancing practices in shops and public spaces, and increases in working from home meant that for many people, increased isolation has been inevitable and serious. </p>
<p>These results were based on surveys of some 320,000 people across the UK and there were inevitable variations between different regions. For example, the West Midlands and north-west England saw the greatest increases in anxiety, while the biggest falls in life satisfaction were in Northern Ireland and Yorkshire and The Humber. </p>
<p><strong>Wellbeing as measured by the ONS</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426668/original/file-20211015-25-14ze5e2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="ONS graphs on wellbeing" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426668/original/file-20211015-25-14ze5e2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426668/original/file-20211015-25-14ze5e2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426668/original/file-20211015-25-14ze5e2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426668/original/file-20211015-25-14ze5e2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426668/original/file-20211015-25-14ze5e2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=690&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426668/original/file-20211015-25-14ze5e2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=690&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426668/original/file-20211015-25-14ze5e2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=690&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/measuringnationalwellbeing/april2020tomarch2021">Office for National Statistics</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But if these falls might be roughly what you would expect during an international pandemic, it is important to point out that people’s wellbeing had already been in decline for the past couple of years. Life satisfaction, happiness and the sense of things being worthwhile were all at their best in 2018-19 according to the ONS, while anxiety levels have been rising since 2014-15. </p>
<p>This is echoed by a <a href="https://www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/publications/gross-domestic-wellbeing-gdwe-2019-20-release/">recent report</a> by Carnegie UK, which also drew on ONS statistics to create an in-house metric known as Gross Domestic Wellbeing or GDWe. Both the ONS data and also the Carnegie UK report reflect a <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/happiness-explained-9780198735458?cc=gb&lang=en&">growing recognition</a> by national and international bodies that you can’t monitor people’s wellbeing by relying on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). </p>
<p>Based on ten different dimensions of wellbeing, this report estimated that GDWe had actually been falling in the four years leading up to the pandemic – all years when <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/263613/gross-domestic-product-gdp-growth-rate-in-the-united-kingdom/">UK GDP</a> was increasing. This decline in wellbeing was due to people in the UK seeing a fall in their mental health status due to loneliness and isolation, which perhaps echoes the new ONS findings around anxiety. </p>
<p>One other interesting observation from the Carnegie report was that the biggest declines in 2019-20 in England – ahead of the damage from the pandemic – were actually for “the economy” and “governance”. </p>
<p>The economy index seeks to represent macro-economic indicators such as income, public debt and inflation, while that for governance is based on voter turnout and trust in government. It is unsurprising that both indices fell during the period, given the consequences of Brexit. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426694/original/file-20211015-21-cyabb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman with baby looking back at a caravan" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426694/original/file-20211015-21-cyabb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426694/original/file-20211015-21-cyabb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426694/original/file-20211015-21-cyabb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426694/original/file-20211015-21-cyabb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426694/original/file-20211015-21-cyabb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426694/original/file-20211015-21-cyabb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426694/original/file-20211015-21-cyabb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Economic difficulties are one of the key drivers of a sense of wellbeing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woE5G6zzFQo">Johann Walter Bantz</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The early economic effects of the pandemic are presumably captured in the new ONS figures. But since the pandemic has caused a spike in public debt that will take years to reduce, plus a range of other problems such as rising prices and product shortages, we can probably expect economic concerns to keep dragging down the wellbeing data for years into the future. </p>
<p>Trust in government will probably have influenced the new ONS data too. It is likely to have followed the ups and downs of COVID and public reactions to the associated policy responses. In the first year of the pandemic, the government’s decision-making over the first and second lockdowns was certainly seen as too slow. </p>
<h2>Mental health</h2>
<p>The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has for a decade published an <a href="https://www.oecd.org/general/compendiumofoecdwell-beingindicators.htm">index of wellbeing</a> and also includes wellbeing in much of its economic analysis. In its <a href="https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/tackling-the-mental-health-impact-of-the-covid-19-crisis-an-integrated-whole-of-society-response-0ccafa0b/">recent analysis</a> of consequences of COVID and country responses, the OECD found people’s mental health worsening to an unprecedented extent. It attributed this to financial insecurity, unemployment and fear, alongside a reduction in the kind of activities that keep people’s mental health buoyant. These include social connections, access to physical exercise, health services and daily routine. </p>
<p>As a result, many countries have sought to scale up mental-health services while trying to protect people’s jobs and income during the pandemic – even if mental health programmes in schools and workplaces have been disrupted and the implications of long-term remote working are yet to be fully understood. </p>
<p>It hasn’t just been higher-income countries that have recognised such problems, as can be seen from the <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/09/19/tackling-mental-health-taboos-amid-the-pandemic">World Bank collaborating</a> in this area with a range of countries in Africa and Asia. One of the themes emerging from all the major international organisations is the need for an integrated, economy-wide approach to mental-health protection – and the new ONS findings about rising anxiety provide an added justification for this. </p>
<p>The calls to build back and to level up are now familiar and demand concrete actions backed by new ways of thinking. Mental health and wellbeing deserves to be centre-stage, even if this calls for priorities at work and at home to be re-evaluated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169988/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Anand has received funding from AHRB, ESRC and UNDP. </span></em></p>People inevitably became less contented during the pandemic, but it’s part of a longer trend.Paul Anand, Professor of Economics, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1569062021-04-09T12:20:07Z2021-04-09T12:20:07ZAt what age are people usually happiest? New research offers surprising clues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394082/original/file-20210408-17-iunr2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C6%2C2114%2C1403&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In an ongoing study, most of those interviewed seemed to recognize that they were happier in their 30s than they were in their 20s.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/composite-of-portraits-with-varying-shades-of-skin-royalty-free-image/1249641728?adppopup=true">RyanJLane via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you could be one age for the rest of your life, what would it be?</p>
<p>Would you choose to be nine years old, absolved of life’s most tedious responsibilities, and instead able to spend your days playing with friends and practicing your times tables? </p>
<p>Or would you choose your early 20s, when time feels endless and the world is your oyster – with friends, travel, pubs and clubs beckoning? </p>
<p>Western culture <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-old-would-you-want-to-be-in-heaven-127410">idealizes youth</a>, so it may come as a surprise to learn that in <a href="https://www.swnsdigital.com/2021/02/average-american-would-freeze-time-to-stop-aging-at-this-perfect-age-if-they-could/">a recent poll</a> asking this question, the most popular answer wasn’t 9 or 23, but 36.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=srXTP4QAAAAJ&hl=en">as a developmental psychologist</a>, I thought that response made a lot of sense.</p>
<p>For the last four years, I’ve been studying people’s experiences of their 30s and early 40s, and my research has led me to believe that this stage of life – while full of challenges – is much more rewarding than most might think.</p>
<h2>The career and care crunch</h2>
<p>When I was a researcher in my late 30s, I wanted to read more about the age period I was in. That was when I realized that no one was doing research on people in their 30s and early 40s, which puzzled me. So much often happens during this time: Buying homes, getting married or getting divorced; building careers, changing careers, having children or choosing not to have children. </p>
<p>To study something, it helps to name it. So my colleagues and I named the period from ages 30 to 45 “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000600">established adulthood</a>,” and then set out to try to understand it better. While we are still collecting data, we have currently interviewed over 100 people in this age cohort, and have collected survey data from more than 600 additional people.</p>
<p>We went into this large-scale project expecting to find that established adults were happy but struggling. We thought there would be rewards during this period of life – perhaps being settled in career, family and friendships, or peaking physically and cognitively – but also some significant challenges. </p>
<p>The main challenge we anticipated was what we called “the career and care crunch.” </p>
<p>This refers to the collision of workplace demands and demands of caring for others that takes place in your 30s and early 40s. Trying to climb a ladder in a chosen career while also being increasingly expected to care for kids, tend to the needs of partners and perhaps care for aging parents can create a lot of stress and work. </p>
<p>Yet when we started to look at our data, what we found surprised us. </p>
<p>Yes, people were feeling overwhelmed and talked about having too much to do in too little time. But they also talked about feeling profoundly satisfied. All of these things that were bringing them stress were also bringing them joy. </p>
<p>For example, Yuying, 44, said “even though there are complicated points of this time period, I feel very solidly happy in this space right now.” Nina, 39, simply described herself as being “wildly happy.” (The names used in this piece are pseudonyms, as required by research protocol.)</p>
<p>When we took an even closer look at our data, it started to become clear why people might wish to remain age 36 over any other age. People talked about being in the prime of their lives and feeling at their peak. After years of working to develop careers and relationships, people reported feeling as though they had finally arrived. </p>
<p>Mark, 36, shared that, at least for him, “things feel more in place.” “I’ve put together a machine that’s finally got all the parts it needs,” he said. </p>
<h2>A sigh of relief after the tumultuous 20s</h2>
<p>As well as feeling as though they had accumulated the careers, relationships and general life skills they had been working toward since their 20s, people also said they had greater self-confidence and understood themselves better.</p>
<p>Jodie, 36, appreciated the wisdom she had gained as she reflected on life beyond her 20s: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Now you’ve got a solid decade of life experience. And what you discover about yourself in your 20s isn’t necessarily that what you wanted was wrong. It’s just you have the opportunity to figure out what you don’t want and what’s not going to work for you. … So you go into your 30s, and you don’t waste a bunch of time going on half dozen dates with somebody that’s probably not really going to work out, because you’ve dated before and you have that confidence and that self-assuredness to be like, ‘hey, thanks but no thanks.’ Your friend circle becomes a lot closer because you weed out the people that you just don’t need in your life that bring drama.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Most established adults we interviewed seemed to recognize that they were happier in their 30s than they were in their 20s, and this impacted how they thought about some of the signs of physical aging that they were starting to encounter. For example, Lisa, 37, said, “If I could go back physically but I had to also go back emotionally and mentally … no way. I would take flabby skin lines every day.”</p>
<h2>Not ideal for everyone</h2>
<p>Our research should be viewed with some caveats. </p>
<p>The interviews were primarily conducted with middle-class North Americans, and many of the participants are white. For those who are working class, or for those who have had to reckon with decades of <a href="https://www.raceforward.org/videos/systemic-racism">systemic racism</a>, established adulthood may not be so rosy. </p>
<p>It is also worth noting that the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/us/politics/women-pandemic-harris.html">career and care crunch has been exacerbated, especially for women, by the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. For this reason, the pandemic may be leading to a decrease in life satisfaction, especially for established adults who are parents trying to navigate full-time careers and full-time child care.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklysmart">You can get our highlights each weekend</a>.]</p>
<p>At the same time, that people think of their 30s – and not their 20s or their teens – as the sweet spot in their lives to which they’d like to return suggests that this is a period of life that we should pay more attention to. </p>
<p>And this is slowly happening. Along with my own work is an excellent book recently written by Kayleen Shaefer, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/603770/but-youre-still-so-young-by-kayleen-schaefer/">But You’re Still So Young</a>,” that explores people navigating their 30s. In her book she tells stories of changing career paths, navigating relationships and dealing with fertility.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I hope that our work and Shaefer’s book are just the beginning. Having a better understanding of the challenges and rewards of established adulthood will give society more tools to support people during that period, ensuring that this golden age provides not only memories that we will fondly look back upon, but also a solid foundation for the rest of our lives. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Established adulthood’ is an emerging area of study.</span></figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156906/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare Mehta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A developmental psychologist explains how a period of life that’s often hectic and stressful can also end up being quite rewarding.Clare Mehta, Associate Professor of Psychology, Emmanuel CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1404312020-07-06T06:10:03Z2020-07-06T06:10:03ZMarriage and money help but don’t lead to long-lasting happiness<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345706/original/file-20200706-33947-lqakgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C165%2C4422%2C2767&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We live in a culture that values “experiences”. These are often promoted in the media, and by those selling them, as vital to enhancing our well-being. </p>
<p>We all know big life events like marriage, parenthood, job loss and the death of loved one can affect our well-being. But by how much and for how long?</p>
<p>We set out to measure the effect of major life events – 18 in total – on well-being. To do so we used a sample of about 14,000 Australian adults tracked over 16 years. Some of our results were expected. Others were surprising. </p>
<p>Overall, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827319302204">our results show</a> good events like marriage improved some aspects of well-being, but bad events like health shocks had larger negative effects. For good and bad events, changes in well-being were temporary, usually disappearing by 3-4 years. </p>
<p>Here are some of our most interesting findings.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/320030/original/file-20200312-116261-a6ugi0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=2" alt="Sign up to The Conversation" width="100%"></a></p>
<h2>Happiness versus life satisfaction</h2>
<p>Our study distinguished two different aspects of well-being: “happiness” and “life satisfaction”. Researchers often treat these as the same thing, but they are different. </p>
<p>Happiness is the positive aspect of our emotions. People’s self-reported happiness tends to be fairly stable in adulthood. It follows what psychologists call “<a href="https://dictionary.apa.org/set-point">set point theory</a>” – people have a “normal” level of happiness to which they usually return over the long run. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/happiness-hinges-on-personality-so-initiatives-to-improve-well-being-need-to-be-tailor-made-102341">Happiness hinges on personality, so initiatives to improve well-being need to be tailor-made</a>
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<p>Life satisfaction is driven more by one’s sense of accomplishment in life. A person can be satisfied, for example, because they have a good job and healthy family but still be unhappy.</p>
<p>Life events often affect happiness and life satisfaction in the same direction: things that make you happier tend to also improve your life satisfaction. But not always, and the size of the effects frequently differ. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345708/original/file-20200706-33947-11dna88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345708/original/file-20200706-33947-11dna88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345708/original/file-20200706-33947-11dna88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345708/original/file-20200706-33947-11dna88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345708/original/file-20200706-33947-11dna88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345708/original/file-20200706-33947-11dna88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345708/original/file-20200706-33947-11dna88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>In the case of having a child, the contrast is stark. Right after the birth, parents are more satisfied but less happy, possibly reflecting the demands of caring for a newborn (eg. sleep deprivation).</p>
<h2>Changes are temporary</h2>
<p>After almost all events (both good and bad), well-being tends to return to a personal set point. This process is known as the <a href="https://dictionary.apa.org/hedonic-treadmill">hedonic treadmill</a> – as people adapt to their new circumstances, well-being returns to baseline. This has been found in other studies as well. </p>
<p>The good news is that even after very bad events, most people seem to eventually return to their set-point well-being level. Even after an extremely bad event such as the death of a spouse, people’s well-being generally recovers in two to three years. This doesn’t mean they don’t carry pain from the experience, but it does mean they can feel happy again.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345709/original/file-20200706-21-ubgmd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345709/original/file-20200706-21-ubgmd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345709/original/file-20200706-21-ubgmd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345709/original/file-20200706-21-ubgmd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345709/original/file-20200706-21-ubgmd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345709/original/file-20200706-21-ubgmd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345709/original/file-20200706-21-ubgmd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<h2>Bad events affect us more</h2>
<p>The detrimental effects of bad events on well-being outweigh the positive effect of good events. Negative effects also last longer. This is partly because most people are happy and satisfied in general, so there is more “room” to feel worse than better. In fact, we can’t confidently say there is any positive cumulative effect of good events on happiness at all. However, marriage, retirement, childbirth and financial gains all temporarily improve overall life satisfaction.</p>
<p>Our finding that “losses” hurt more than “gains” mirrors decades of behavioural economics research showing people are generally “loss averse” – going to more effort to avoid losses than to chase gains. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-loss-aversion-and-is-it-real-101389">Explainer: what is loss aversion and is it real?</a>
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<p>The bad events that have the largest total effects are death of a spouse or child, financial loss, injury, illness and separation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345710/original/file-20200706-33943-10ysbb8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345710/original/file-20200706-33943-10ysbb8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345710/original/file-20200706-33943-10ysbb8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345710/original/file-20200706-33943-10ysbb8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345710/original/file-20200706-33943-10ysbb8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=969&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345710/original/file-20200706-33943-10ysbb8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=969&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345710/original/file-20200706-33943-10ysbb8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=969&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<h2>Small, fleeting effects</h2>
<p>Starting a new job, getting promoted, being fired and moving house are events that people often fixate on as either stressful or to be celebrated. But, on average, these don’t seem to affect well-being that much. Their effects are comparatively very small and generally fleeting. </p>
<p>This could be because of differences in the nature of these events for different people, or that they frequently occur. For example, being fired can be devastating. But for someone close to retirement who receives a large redundancy payment and moves to the coast, it might be a positive experience.</p>
<p>An important caveat to our study is that it reflects the average experiences of people. There are likely to be some people who experience long-lasting improvements in well-being after good events. There will also be people who experience sustained decreased well-being after bad events. In future work we hope to identify these different people and isolate the characteristics that predict what responses to different events will look like. </p>
<h2>The things that matter</h2>
<p>Our results caution against chasing happiness through positive experiences alone. The impact, if any, seems small and fleeting, as the hedonic treadmill drags us back to our own well-being set point. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-paradox-of-happiness-the-more-you-chase-it-the-more-elusive-it-becomes-112217">The paradox of happiness: the more you chase it the more elusive it becomes</a>
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<p>Instead, we might do better by focusing on the things that protect us against feeling devastated by bad events. The most important factors are strong relationships, good health and managing exposure to financial losses.</p>
<p>In 2020 we might also take consolation from the fact that, although it will take time, our well-being can recover from even the worst circumstances. </p>
<p>We humans are a resilient bunch.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140431/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Glozier receives related funding from NHMRC & ARC, and is an RUOK thinktank member</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nathan Kettlewell and Richard Morris do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our study of 14,000 Australians shows the effect of 18 major life events on happiness and life satisfaction.Nathan Kettlewell, Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Economics Discipline Group, University of Technology SydneyNick Glozier, Professor of Psychological Medicine, BMRI & Disciplne of Psychiatry, University of SydneyRichard Morris, Research scientist, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1372362020-05-20T20:04:24Z2020-05-20T20:04:24ZRecessions scar young people their entire lives, even into retirement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336310/original/file-20200520-152284-of2g5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=461%2C383%2C3455%2C2275&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is well-established that recessions hit young people the hardest.</p>
<p>We saw it in our early 1980s recession, our early 1990s recession, and in the one we are now entering. </p>
<p>The latest <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/6160.0.55.001Main%20Features4Week%20ending%202%20May%202020">payroll data</a> shows that for most age groups, employment fell 5% to 6% between mid-March and May. For workers in their 20s, it fell 10.7%</p>
<p>The most dramatic divergence in the fortunes of young and older Australians came in the mid 1970s recession when the unemployment rate for those aged 15-19 shot up from 4% to 10% in the space of one year. A year later it was 12%, and 15% a year after that. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Unemployment rates 1971-1977</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336271/original/file-20200520-152288-16b5n6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336271/original/file-20200520-152288-16b5n6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336271/original/file-20200520-152288-16b5n6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336271/original/file-20200520-152288-16b5n6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336271/original/file-20200520-152288-16b5n6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336271/original/file-20200520-152288-16b5n6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336271/original/file-20200520-152288-16b5n6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336271/original/file-20200520-152288-16b5n6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/6203.0">ABS 6203.0</a></span>
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<p>At the time, 15 to 19 years of age was when young people got jobs. Only one third completed Year 12. </p>
<p>What is less well known is how long the effects lasted. They seem to be present more than 40 years later.</p>
<p>The Australians who were 15 to 19 years old at the time of the mid-1970s recession were born in the early 1960s.</p>
<p>In almost every recent <a href="http://positivepsychology.org.uk/subjective-well-being/">subjective well-being</a> survey they have performed worse that those born before or after that period. </p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-a-reason-youre-feeling-no-better-off-than-10-years-ago-heres-what-hilda-says-about-well-being-121098">There's a reason you're feeling no better off than 10 years ago. Here's what HILDA says about well-being</a>
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<hr>
<p>Subjective well-being is determined by asking respondents how satisified they are with their lives on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is totally dissatisfied and 10 is totally satisfied.</p>
<p>Australia’s Household, Income and Labour Dynamics survey (<a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/hilda">HILDA</a>) has been asking the question since 2001.</p>
<p>In order to fairly compare the life satisfaction of different generations it is necessary to adjust the findings to compensate for other things known to affect satisfaction including income, gender, marital status, education and employment status.</p>
<p>Doing that and selecting the 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016 surveys to examine how children born at the start of the 1960s have fared relative to those born earlier and later, shows that regardless of their age at the time of the survey, they are less satisfied than those born at other times.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Subjective wellbeing by birth cohort over four HILDA surveys</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336287/original/file-20200520-152311-h03y48.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336287/original/file-20200520-152311-h03y48.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336287/original/file-20200520-152311-h03y48.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336287/original/file-20200520-152311-h03y48.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336287/original/file-20200520-152311-h03y48.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336287/original/file-20200520-152311-h03y48.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336287/original/file-20200520-152311-h03y48.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336287/original/file-20200520-152311-h03y48.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Subjective well-being on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is totally dissatisfied and 10 is totally satisfied.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/hilda">Regressions available upon request</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>The consistency of lower levels of subjective well-being reported by the 1961-1965 birth cohort suggests something has had a lasting effect.</p>
<p>An obvious candidate is the dramatic increase in the rate of youth unemployment in at the time many of this age group were trying to get a job.</p>
<p>Over time, labour markets can recover but the scars of entering the labour market during a time of sudden high unemployment can be permanent.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-next-employment-challenge-from-coronavirus-how-to-help-the-young-135676">The next employment challenge from coronavirus: how to help the young</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The impacts of the early 1980s and early 1990s recessions on young people were alleviated somewhat by the doubling of the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4220.0">Year 12 retention rate</a> and later by the doubling of <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/student-data">university enrolments</a>. </p>
<p>But the education sector is maxed out and might not be able to perform the same trick for the third recession in a row.</p>
<p>Reinvigorating apprenticeships and providing cadetships for non-trade occupations might help. Otherwise the effects of the 2020 recession on an unlucky group of Australians might stay with us for a very long time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137236/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Chesters is affiliated with Australian Labor Party. I am a branch member</span></em></p>Four decades on, and commencing retirement, Australians who entered the labour market during the 1970s recession are less happy than those born earlier or later.Jenny Chesters, Senior Lecturer/ Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1327392020-03-03T19:05:12Z2020-03-03T19:05:12ZToday’s GDP figures won’t tell us whether life is getting better – here’s what can<p>We are a country that has become richer than we possibly ever could have imagined. We have had 29 years of unprecedented, <a href="https://www.austrade.gov.au/news/economic-analysis/australia-on-course-to-celebrate-30-years-of-growth-says-oxford-economics#note-1">world-record holding</a> economic growth. </p>
<p>Although economically things are a little <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-27/government-budget-surplus-threatened-by-coronavirus/12002704">precarious</a> in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak and our worst bushfires in recorded history, ahead of the first gross domestic product (GDP) announcement for the year, it’s worth acknowledging this remarkable achievement. </p>
<p>But what has it meant for people’s lives? The figures tell us little about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/23/fiona-stanleys-2020s-vision-please-can-we-move-beyond-gdp">whether life is getting better</a>. </p>
<p>In 1991, the last time GDP went backwards for two consecutive quarters, 258,226 babies were born in Australia. </p>
<h2>Samantha and Andrew</h2>
<p>Let’s call one of them Samantha, born in Bently, an area of high socioeconomic disadvantage in Western Australia, and the other Andrew, born in the suburb of Griffith in the Australian Capital Territory. </p>
<p>During the first two years of their lives, around one in 10 families with children were in a <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/855e6f87080d2e1aca2570ec000c8e5f!OpenDocument">jobless household</a>. </p>
<p>Andrew’s parents had jobs. Samantha’s didn’t.</p>
<p>By the time Samantha and Andrew were 25, in 2016, average household disposable income was twice what it had been when they were born, even after accounting for higher prices. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/labor-is-right-to-talk-about-well-being-but-it-depends-on-where-you-live-129704">Labor is right to talk about well-being, but it depends on where you live</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But it’s not hard to see that, despite economic growth, their lives were different.</p>
<p>Samantha had less education, was underemployed, in housing stress and skipping meals to feed her kids. Andrew had higher education, was employed full-time, lived with high-income parents and was saving for a deposit for a place of his own. </p>
<p>While economic growth made us wealthier as a country, it hasn’t been good for all of us.</p>
<p>We need a measure that sits alongside gross domestic product that tells us whether we are actually getting better off. </p>
<h2>What matters is whether we are really better off</h2>
<p>The idea of a broader measure of social progress isn’t new – a collaboration called the <a href="http://www.andi.org.au/">Australian National Development Index</a> has been underway a few years now, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics used to publish “<a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1370.0%7E2013%7EMain%20Features%7EAbout%20MAP%7E2">Measures of Australia’s Progress</a>” until budget cuts in 2014.</p>
<p><a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/publications/wellbeing-budget/wellbeing-budget-2019-html">New Zealand</a> introduced a “well-being budget” last year, targeting mental health, child welfare, Indigenous reconciliation, the environment, suicide, and homelessness, alongside traditional measures of productivity and investment.</p>
<p>Labor’s treasury spokesman, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/measure-what-matters-labor-s-plan-to-track-the-nation-s-wellbeing-alongside-gdp-20200219-p5426n.html">Jim Chalmers</a>, has <a href="https://jimchalmers.org/media/speeches/measuring-what-matters/">promised</a> to do the same when Labor is next in office.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-we-measure-well-being-70967">How do we measure well-being?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://amplify.csi.edu.au/social-progress-index/">Australia’s Social Progress Index</a>, launched last month by the <a href="https://amplify.csi.edu.au">Centre for Social Impact</a> at UNSW Sydney and the <a href="https://www.socialprogress.org/">Social Progress Imperative</a> will go further, and much further than the national accounts to be released today.</p>
<p>It will enable the well-being and opportunities to be ranked and compared by location and time.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://amplify.csi.edu.au/social-progress-index/">online tool</a> enables anyone to explore how we are tracking on <a href="https://amplify.csi.edu.au/social-progress-index/methodology/">12 components </a> grouped into three domains: basic human needs, foundations of well-being, and opportunity.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318218/original/file-20200303-18270-7wakux.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318218/original/file-20200303-18270-7wakux.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318218/original/file-20200303-18270-7wakux.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318218/original/file-20200303-18270-7wakux.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318218/original/file-20200303-18270-7wakux.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318218/original/file-20200303-18270-7wakux.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318218/original/file-20200303-18270-7wakux.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318218/original/file-20200303-18270-7wakux.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finding the components wasn’t easy. </p>
<p>We needed to consider data availability, data detail, sample sizes, and reliability. We considered more than <a href="https://amplify.csi.edu.au/social-progress-index/methodology/">400 possibilities</a>. </p>
<p>While it is by no means the only (or perfect) way of understanding Australian living standards, it pushes us significantly beyond GDP. </p>
<p>It asks and answers universally important questions, such as: </p>
<p>• Do people have adequate housing with basic utilities? </p>
<p>• Do people have access to an educational foundation? </p>
<p>• Are people free to make their own life choices?</p>
<p>• Is this society using its resources so they will be available to future generations?</p>
<h2>Economic growth doesn’t tell us much</h2>
<p>The results show a stark disconnect between economic and social progress. While our GDP has been rising, we have fared poorly on environmental quality and access to information and communications. </p>
<p>At a state and territory level, despite having high gross state product per capita, <a href="https://www.jtsi.wa.gov.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/wa-economic-profile---february-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=538731c_4">Western Australia</a> and the <a href="https://nteconomy.nt.gov.au/economic-growth">Northern Territory</a> ranked 7th and 8th on most of the indicators. </p>
<p>The rising tide has not lifted all boats. </p>
<p>This is evident in Andrew and Samantha’s lives (the Australian Capital Territory ranks first overall, Western Australia 7th) and also in the aftermath of the bushfires. </p>
<p>People were cut off from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/01/australia-bushfire-towns-supplies-power-houses-the-lot">power</a>, information, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-01-13/are-australias-telecommunication-up-to-the-new-kind-of-megafire/11860238">communication</a>, and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-06/fire-cuts-food-supplies-to-nsw-south-coast-towns-and-families/11842382">access to resources</a>. Many <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/20191113_00.aspx">struggled to breathe</a>. We lost much of our ecosystem. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-vote-for-happiness-and-well-being-not-mere-economic-growth-heres-why-116061">It's time to vote for happiness and well-being, not mere economic growth. Here's why:</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The economy is fundamental to improving our well-being and fuelling our social progress, but it isn’t everything and it isn’t necessarily inclusive.</p>
<p>If we had inclusive growth we wouldn’t be able to predict babies’ futures by the postcodes in which they were born. We would be able to meet basic human needs regardless of how much was spent and earned each quarter.</p>
<p>Today’s national accounts will be important, as a spur to asking other important questions, rather than as the final answer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132739/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amplify Social Impact is supported by seed funding from UNSW; Founding Partners NAB and the PwC Foundation; and supported by Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy Australasia and Perpetual.</span></em></p>Today’s national accounts will be important, but for many Australians will say little about living standards.Kristy Muir, Professor of Social Policy / CEO, Centre for Social Impact, UNSW SydneyIsabella Saunders, Research Assistant at the Centre for Social Impact, UNSW SydneyMegan Weier, Research Fellow, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1297042020-02-20T19:00:58Z2020-02-20T19:00:58ZLabor is right to talk about well-being, but it depends on where you live<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316373/original/file-20200220-92502-r0xfz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C419%2C3508%2C2155&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Labor’s treasury spokesman, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/measure-what-matters-labor-s-plan-to-track-the-nation-s-wellbeing-alongside-gdp-20200219-p5426n.html">Jim Chalmers</a>, wants to follow New Zealand’s example and introduce a “<a href="https://jimchalmers.org/media/speeches/measuring-what-matters/">well-being budget</a>” alongside the traditional budget that stresses economic growth, when Labor is next in office.</p>
<p><a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/publications/wellbeing-budget/wellbeing-budget-2019-html">New Zealand</a>’s budget, introduced last year, targets mental health, child welfare, indigenous reconciliation, the environment, suicide, and homelessness, along side more traditional measures such as productivity and investment.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50650155">Iceland</a> is drawing up its own plans and <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/nicola_sturgeon_why_governments_should_prioritize_well_being">Scotland</a> isn’t far behind.</p>
<p>The United Nations is also promoting the concept through <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html">Sustainable Development Goals</a>, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development through a <a href="http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/">Better Life Index</a>. </p>
<p>The international <a href="https://wellbeingeconomy.org/">Well-being Economy Alliance</a> has thousands of individual members, more than 100 institutional members, a handful of governmental members, and is quickly growing.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gJzSWacrkKo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Why governments should prioritise well-being, Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland,
July 2019.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Life satisfaction can be measured</h2>
<p>Life satisfaction isn’t too difficult to measure, and can be compared between countries, over time.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/methodology/247679/wellbeing-inequality-ratio-calculated.aspx">Gallup Organisation</a> regularly asks the same question in 150 countries covering 98% of the world’s population:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Imagine an 11-rung ladder where the bottom (0) represents the worst possible life for you and the top (10) represents the best possible life for you </p>
<p>On which step of the ladder do you feel you personally stand at the present time?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a similar way, Australia’s Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Survey (<a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/hilda">HILDA</a>) asks:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life?</p>
<p>Answer on a scale from 0 (totally dissatisfied) to 10 (totally satisfied)</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>But it varies from place to place</h2>
<p>In Australia, the national average can be misleading. Our analysis of the HILDA data, published in the <a href="http://www.idakub.com/academics/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019_J_Kubiszewski_GeographicallyWeightedRegressions.pdf">journal of Ecological Economics</a>, finds significant differences between areas of Australia related to factors such as environment, employment, health, and social structures, amongst others.</p>
<p>The map below shows that, while the national average was 7.5, in some areas of Australia the regional average was as low as 3. In other regions, it was as high as 10.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Average life satisfaction by region 2001-2017, scale 0 to 10</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316369/original/file-20200220-92530-1xwzxvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316369/original/file-20200220-92530-1xwzxvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316369/original/file-20200220-92530-1xwzxvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316369/original/file-20200220-92530-1xwzxvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316369/original/file-20200220-92530-1xwzxvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316369/original/file-20200220-92530-1xwzxvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316369/original/file-20200220-92530-1xwzxvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316369/original/file-20200220-92530-1xwzxvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.idakub.com/academics/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019_J_Kubiszewski_GeographicallyWeightedRegressions.pdf">HILDA, Kubiszewski, Jarvis and Zakariyya, 2019</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>But even these averages hide people with extraordinarily low levels of life satisfaction.</p>
<p>On average, 3% of the Australians surveyed between 2001 and 2017 reported a score between 0 and 4, a range so low as to be considered “suffering” by <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/122453/understanding-gallup-uses-cantril-scale.aspx">Gallup</a>. </p>
<p>Over the same period, around 10% reported a score between 5 and 6 (“struggling”) and 87% reported a score between 7 and 10 (“thriving”).</p>
<p>Acknowledging this diversity is critical to ensuring happy lives for all Australians.</p>
<h2>And what helps varies by location</h2>
<p>What matters to life satisfaction appears to also <a href="http://www.idakub.com/academics/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2019_J_Kubiszewski_Wellbeing-scales.pdf">vary from place to place</a>.</p>
<p>We found that what matters most in parts of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales is the relationships people have with their children and partners. In a large part of Western Australia it is built infrastructure. In some other parts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory it is personal health. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>What matters most for life satisfaction by location</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316370/original/file-20200220-92551-1rp3z4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316370/original/file-20200220-92551-1rp3z4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316370/original/file-20200220-92551-1rp3z4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316370/original/file-20200220-92551-1rp3z4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316370/original/file-20200220-92551-1rp3z4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316370/original/file-20200220-92551-1rp3z4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316370/original/file-20200220-92551-1rp3z4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316370/original/file-20200220-92551-1rp3z4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Average 2001-2007.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.idakub.com/academics/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019_J_Kubiszewski_GeographicallyWeightedRegressions.pdf">HILDA, Kubiszewski, Jarvis and Zakariyya, 2019</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>It’s the same with what harms life satisfaction. </p>
<p>In South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and even parts of Queensland, inequality in life satisfaction itself contributes most to decreasing of life satisfaction. </p>
<p>In the central Northern Territory it’s the harsh environment. In parts of Western Australia it’s simply being a male, or having children.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>What most harms life satisfaction by location</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316371/original/file-20200220-92551-yfgysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316371/original/file-20200220-92551-yfgysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316371/original/file-20200220-92551-yfgysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316371/original/file-20200220-92551-yfgysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316371/original/file-20200220-92551-yfgysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316371/original/file-20200220-92551-yfgysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316371/original/file-20200220-92551-yfgysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316371/original/file-20200220-92551-yfgysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Average 2001-2007.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.idakub.com/academics/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019_J_Kubiszewski_GeographicallyWeightedRegressions.pdf">HILDA, Kubiszewskia, Jarvis and Zakariyya, 2019</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>None of this means that all of these factors aren’t important to all of us to some extent. </p>
<p>What it does mean is that there are difference in how each of us prioritises what is more important. Some of us choose careers while others choose large families, some choose nightclubs and five-star restaurants while others choose remote beaches.</p>
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<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-we-measure-well-being-70967">How do we measure well-being?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>It means that while national programs can be useful, local and regional policies can be critical. </p>
<p>Formulating local policies is time-consuming and complex, and requires information, but it is worthwhile.</p>
<p>It might help to add another question or two to the census with answers recorded by location.</p>
<p>One might be: “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life?”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129704/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ida Kubiszewski receives funding from the ARC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diane Jarvis and Nabeeh Zakariyya do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Happiness varies by location, and what matters for happiness varies as well.Ida Kubiszewski, Associate professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National UniversityDiane Jarvis, Senior Lecturer, Economics, James Cook UniversityNabeeh Zakariyya, PhD candidate, Research School of Economics., Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1181962019-09-04T17:34:33Z2019-09-04T17:34:33ZTeachers’ quality of life in France: is the picture really that bleak?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290143/original/file-20190829-106512-1ipsry2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C24%2C5420%2C3318&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Although disparities exist, French teachers are generally satisfied with their jobs.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Now and then, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-27193638">here</a> and <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/16/us/20-deadliest-mass-shootings-in-u-s-history-fast-facts/index.html">there</a>, some dramatic events crop up <a href="https://www.cnews.fr/france/2019-04-14/saint-denis-un-adolescent-interpelle-apres-lagression-dune-enseignante-avec-un">in teaching establishments</a>, painting a specific, sometimes dire, picture of the teaching profession.</p>
<p>But do such extreme events really represent what most teachers actually experience? To form a more accurate picture of the reality of teaching at a given level, one must be able to draw on information which represents all teachers at that level.</p>
<p>In France, this was the objective of a representative health survey among teachers titled <a href="https://www.fondationmgen.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Rapport_descriptif_QVE_VF_newlogoFili-1.pdf">“Qualité de vie des enseignants” [Teachers’ Quality of Life]</a> conducted in 2013 by the MGEN Foundation for Public Health, in partnership with France’s Ministry of Education.</p>
<p>The overview offered by the survey establishes a nuanced state of play on the teachers’ quality of life and deconstructs certain clichés associated with the profession. At the end of the day, the picture is not quite as bleak as one might (at first) believe.</p>
<p>In 2013, 5,000 teachers were selected from members of the national education directory. They were sent a detailed questionnaire focused on their work environment, professional well-being and quality of life. The response rate was 54%, which is quite high for this kind of study. The responses were weighted using administrative data on gender, age, teaching level and sector, to make them applicable to all teachers in France.</p>
<h2>Teachers: reasonably satisfied</h2>
<p>According to the survey results, teachers are coping well on the whole. While close to 60% recognise that the job is becoming increasingly difficult, 82% say they are satisfied or very satisfied with their professional experience.</p>
<p>Teachers in France generally feel positive about their quality of life: 65% feel it as good or very good, compared to 8% who feel it as bad or very bad (the rest indicate that it was “neither good nor bad”). They are also satisfied with the state of their general health, their physical mobility, their ability to concentrate and their psychological health. On the whole, teachers positively rate their social relationships, both at home and at work, as well as their physical environment, including place of residence, access to medical care, and transport.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, satisfaction appears to be more mixed when it comes to the balance between income and expenses, the opportunities for leisure activities, the quality of sleep as well as feeling safe in their daily lives.</p>
<p>Furthermore, these general tendencies should be balanced against certain professional factors, including the level of teaching, the type of establishment and seniority. An important lesson from the study is that despite the profession’s supposed uniformity, working conditions and teachers’ level of experience are very diverse. The everyday life of a teacher of a multilevel class in a small rural school will be quite different to that of a P.E. teacher in a secondary school in the suburbs or that of a university lecturer.</p>
<h2>The voice: a teacher’s Achilles’ heel</h2>
<p>One organ is particularly sought after in the classroom: vocal chords. For teachers, the voice is an indispensable tool of the trade and as soon as it stops working properly, all areas of daily life, both professional and private, are negatively affected. This has been highlighted by a <a href="https://www.em-consulte.com/en/article/1035079">specific part of the survey</a> dedicated to vocal problems.</p>
<p>Voice disorders among teachers are far from rare, and, more importantly, they are never trivial. At the time of the survey, 13% of teachers complained of a moderate to severe vocal handicap, 16% were unable to give classes at least once a year and 23% had already consulted a health professional because of a voice problem.</p>
<p>The worse the social-environmental context was reported to be (e.g., living environment judged to be unhealthy, educational establishment located in a socially-underprivileged area), the more frequent vocal problems were. Voice disorders were closely associated with less satisfaction with the professional experience and quality of life.</p>
<h2>A profession that is less lonely than it seems</h2>
<p>A lone teacher, on a platform in front of a board, facing his/her class. This is the image that often comes to mind when we think about the teaching profession.</p>
<p>However, social connections formed by teachers within the professional setting, with students, their families, colleagues, managerial staff, etc. are numerous and rich. A large majority of teachers appreciate these interactions. Moreover, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-019-01431-6">social support at work</a>, particularly from supervisors, appears to be important for teachers to combat the symptoms of burnout.</p>
<p>In the section of the analysis dedicated to the <a href="http://www.em-consulte.com/article/1169377/bien-etre-au-travail-et-qualite-de-vie-des-enseign">differences in teachers’ feelings according to their seniority</a>, a decrease in well-being, particularly professional well-being, has been brought to light among teachers nearing the end of their careers (i.e., 30-plus years in the profession). This trend is seen even though their working conditions are globally better: for example, these teachers tend to more often work in higher-level educational settings and with more privileged pupils.</p>
<p>Also, the study highlighted a hot topic for teachers at the beginning of their careers: while they lack experience, and need more time to prepare their lessons, these young teachers also experience less favourable environmental conditions overall (both at work and at home).</p>
<h2>School violence from the point of view of teachers</h2>
<p>During the school year, 17% of teachers were victims of hostile behaviour and 40% witnessed this type of behaviour in their workplace. A <a href="http://cache.media.education.gouv.fr/file/revue_92/07/6/depp-2016-EF-92-Violence-a-ecole-violence-au-travail-le-cas-des-enseignants_686076.pdf">careful analysis</a>, including textual analysis, of cases of violence described by teachers who were themselves victims has highlighted that the “school” violence (typically from students in secondary school or from parents in pre-school) is not the only type of violence affecting teachers’ well-being. “Internal” violence, inherent in the professional world (i.e. conflicts between colleagues or with the hierarchy), is equally problematic. This is particularly the case in confrontational relationships or tensions with leadership.</p>
<p>Having been a victim of violence is closely associated with negative health indicators: symptoms of burnout, reduced quality of life, voice problems and absence at work.</p>
<h2>Gender inequality exists in teaching too</h2>
<p>Teaching is a very female-centred sector. Nonetheless, there is a clear gradient that shows that the higher the level of teaching, the more the men are represented. In the study, this gradient was accurately reproduced, as well as <a href="http://cache.media.education.gouv.fr/file/revue_96/68/8/DEPP-EF96-2018-article-11-bien-etre-travail-enseignants-differences-hommes-femmes_905688.pdf">differences in working conditions between men and women</a> in primary, secondary and higher education. For example, female teachers more often work part-time than their male peers, who more often teach in scientific or technical disciplines and in secondary and higher education.</p>
<p>In terms of professional well-being, gender-based differences were less notable, except in secondary education where female teachers appeared overall to be a little more satisfied with their professional experience than the male teachers. While, statistically speaking, female and male teachers might work according to significantly different modalities, their professional well-being would be comparable, with a few exceptions.</p>
<h2>Satisfied and healthy teachers overall</h2>
<p>In conclusion, the overview of the results of the “Teachers’ Quality of Life” survey reveals that teachers in France are generally in good health and satisfied with their professional experience, but that, nonetheless, some refinement is needed regarding their shared concerns for the future. This set of results opens up potential ways to improve teachers’ quality of life, in particular by strengthening social support at the educational team level or by improving the psychosocial and environmental framework.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118196/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marie-Noël Vercambre-Jacquot works for Fondation d'entreprise MGEN pour la Santé Publique</span></em></p>Nearly 1 million teachers in France – 4% of the employed population – work with students on a daily basis, in the public or private sector. How do they feel?Marie-Noël Vercambre-Jacquot, Chercheur épidémiologiste, Fondation MGEN pour la santé publiqueLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/873942018-02-21T09:14:51Z2018-02-21T09:14:51ZAre religious people happier than non-religious people?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207127/original/file-20180220-116358-fig3nu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Happiness and life satisfaction levels vary across different religious groups.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-women-wearing-traditional-dress-carrying-basins-860577/">Pexels</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What makes people happy? This question can be difficult to answer. Happiness has been discussed throughout history. Philosophers, thinkers and activists, such as Aristippus, Aristotle, Zhuangzi, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Jeremy Benthan and Bertrand Russell, have considered happiness and life satisfaction to be one of the highest goals of human motivation. </p>
<p>But happiness and life satisfaction can be tricky to define. While both make up part of a person’s well-being, happiness refers to an individual’s emotions, feelings or moods. Life satisfaction, on the other hand, is more to do with the way people might think about their life as a whole – including their relationships. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6042458">Previous research</a> suggests the “happy person” is young, healthy, well-educated, well-paid, optimistic and extroverted. The same research found the happiest people tend to be religious, married, with high self-esteem and job morale and modest aspirations. It seems your gender and level of intelligence don’t necessarily come into it.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/">Research suggests </a> that around the world, over 84% of people belong to or are connected to a religious group. And our <a href="https://pure.york.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/are-happiness-and-life-satisfaction-different-across-religious-groups-exploring-determinants-of-happiness-and-life-satisfaction(2f49d66c-349f-4b1c-8560-76be7b19b7ad)/export.html">recent research</a> looks at whether different religions experience different levels of happiness and life satisfaction. The findings show that individual religiosity and their country’s level of development both affect people’s happiness and life satisfaction. </p>
<h2>Happiness research</h2>
<p>Our study looks at a large number of different religious groups across 100 countries – from 1981 to 2014 – using data from the <a href="http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/wvs.jsp">World Value Survey</a>. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that Protestants, Buddhists and Roman Catholics are happier and more satisfied with their lives, compared with other groups. Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and the non-religious were in between, while Orthodox Christians were found to have the lowest happiness and life satisfaction rates.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207119/original/file-20180220-116333-1d2e5rn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207119/original/file-20180220-116333-1d2e5rn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207119/original/file-20180220-116333-1d2e5rn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207119/original/file-20180220-116333-1d2e5rn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207119/original/file-20180220-116333-1d2e5rn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207119/original/file-20180220-116333-1d2e5rn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207119/original/file-20180220-116333-1d2e5rn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Buddha taught that happiness is one of the seven factors of Enlightenment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/monk-walking-near-buntings-during-day-750896/">Pexels</a></span>
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<p>In our research, we found that many factors were positively associated with happiness and life satisfaction. These included being Protestant, female, married and younger (16 to 24 years old). The household’s financial situation also came into it, as did a person’s state of health and freedom of choice. </p>
<p>We discovered that national pride and trust were important in terms of happiness rankings, as was having friends, family and leisure time. Attending weekly religious practice was also discovered to be an important factor. On the other hand, being unemployed and on a low income was negatively associated with happiness and life satisfaction. </p>
<p>A closer look at the magnitude of the association between these factors and happiness and life satisfaction revealed that health, financial stability and freedom of choice, or control over one’s life were the most important factors. But more research needs to be done to understand why some religious groups are happier and more satisfied than others. </p>
<h2>A global objective</h2>
<p>In recent years, interest in <a href="https://www.happinessresearchinstitute.com/">well-being research</a> has surged – with economists such as Nobel laureate <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/118025/118123/Fitoussi+Commission+report">Joseph Stiglitz</a> agreeing it is time to shift the emphasis from measuring economic production, to measuring people’s happiness and life satisfaction. </p>
<p>But to make human happiness the overall guide to human progress requires good data on the quality of human lives – and this is something that is sadly still lagging in most countries. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207120/original/file-20180220-116343-1jfdgw5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207120/original/file-20180220-116343-1jfdgw5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207120/original/file-20180220-116343-1jfdgw5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207120/original/file-20180220-116343-1jfdgw5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207120/original/file-20180220-116343-1jfdgw5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207120/original/file-20180220-116343-1jfdgw5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207120/original/file-20180220-116343-1jfdgw5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Having friends and family and a sense of community can help to boost happiness levels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-people-enjoying-music-concert-325521/">Pexels</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the meantime, it might be worth both individuals and governments engaging with positive psychology. <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/ghc-2018/GlobalHappinessPolicyReport2018.pdf">New research</a> shows that schools teaching positive psychology radically improves the happiness of pupils in countries as varied as Peru, China, Bhutan and Australia. </p>
<p>It’s clear then that while happiness can mean different things to different people, there are some fundamental uniting principles that make us more likely to feel happy or unhappy. And as our findings suggest, by improving access to healthcare and supporting their basic financial needs, governments can do much to help boost people’s well-being and life satisfaction.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kayonda Hubert Ngamaba does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Considering factors that contribute to happiness and life satisfaction.Kayonda Hubert Ngamaba, Research Associate, Social Policy and Social Work Department, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/751832017-03-27T02:55:14Z2017-03-27T02:55:14ZDistress, status wars and immoral behaviour: the psychological impacts of inequality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162517/original/image-20170326-18991-hpfu3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Economic inequality has psychological effects.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is well known that economic inequality is rising. In most industrialised nations the distribution of wealth and income is becoming increasingly concentrated. In the United States, the top 10% of earners make more than <a href="http://inequality.org/income-inequality/">nine times as much</a> on average as the remainder, and in Australia the ratio approaches five.</p>
<p>It is also well known that rising economic inequality is associated with a range of economic and social ills. More unequal societies tend to have worse <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25577953">health</a>, more <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16020644">obesity</a>, more <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/073401689301800203">violent crime</a>, more <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0014292195000305">political instability</a>, and more <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/000312240507000107">institutional corruption</a>.</p>
<h2>Psychological effects</h2>
<p>What is less well known is that economic inequality also has psychological effects. For example, there is evidence that people in more unequal societies tend to have lower levels of <a href="http://www.gini-research.org/system/uploads/374/original/DP_38_-_Ferrer-i-Carbonell_Ramos.pdf">life satisfaction</a> and higher rates of <a href="https://jhu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/income-inequality-and-depression-prevalence-across-the-united-sta-3">depression</a>. These and other psychological effects on individuals may help to explain the larger scale social effects of inequality. </p>
<p>An important new <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/spc3.12304/abstract">review article</a> makes a strong case for the explanatory role of two phenomena in particular. <a href="http://psychology.as.virginia.edu/people/profile/nrb8pv">Nicholas Buttrick</a> and <a href="http://psychology.as.virginia.edu/people/profile/so5x">Shigehiro Oishi</a> argue economic inequality breeds mistrust and status competition. These have downstream effects on health and well-being in more unequal societies.</p>
<h2>Mistrust</h2>
<p>Buttrick and Oishi demonstrate that inequality is associated with a generalised distrust of other people. People who see large economic disparities tend to believe the economic system is unfair and others are advancing themselves by questionable means.</p>
<p>This lack of trust is amplified by high levels of class-based segregation in unequal societies, which reduces opportunities for people to interact outside their socioeconomic bubbles. The combination of distrust and unfamiliarity contributes to a lack of social cohesion and a sense that socioeconomic divides are deep and inevitable.</p>
<p>Mistrust undermines social connection and civility. Studies comparing US states find that residents of more unequal states are less likely to participate in <a href="https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/4551796/alesina_participation.pdf?sequence=2">social groups</a>, a form of disengagement associated with poorer health outcomes according to <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-social-cure-why-do-groups-make-us-healthier-and-how-can-we-capitalise-on-these-curing-properties/">Australian research</a>. Wealthy residents of these states are also less likely to <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/112/52/15838.full">contribute to charity</a>. </p>
<p>People in more unequal American states even show differences in their personality and willingness to engage in immoral behaviour. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21612851">One study</a> found they score relatively low on agreeableness – a trait that includes tendencies to be friendly and cooperative. </p>
<p><a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797611435980">Another</a> revealed that people from these states were more likely to conduct Google searches for academic cheating aids.</p>
<p>Diminished trust in economically unequal societies may have large social effects. Low generalised trust partially accounts for the relationship between <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951926/">inequality and mortality</a> observed in a sample of 33 countries, which endures even when public health expenditures are statistically controlled. It also partially explains the link between <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20525751">inequality and homicide rates</a> in those countries. </p>
<p>In short, a society where people do not trust one another is at risk of ill health and violent crime. Such societies tend to have relatively large economic disparities.</p>
<h2>Status competition</h2>
<p>According to Buttrick and Oishi, mistrust is only one of the psychological processes that account for inequality’s adverse social effects. The other is status competition. People in highly unequal societies are more concerned with where they stand on the status hierarchy. </p>
<p>Status anxiety may appear as fears of losing one’s economic standing or concerns about how others perceive it. That concern may manifest itself in consumerism. Residents of more unequal US states engage in more searches for <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614567511">high status consumption items</a>, such as luxury brands. </p>
<p>This preoccupation with displaying high standing may even influence people’s sense of self. In <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51675901_Economic_Inequality_Is_Linked_to_Biased_Self-Perception">a study</a> led by my research group, people from more economically unequal countries were most likely to see themselves as above average on desirable characteristics. “Self-enhancement” of this sort is a key ingredient of narcissism.</p>
<h2>Cause or effect?</h2>
<p>Research on inequality paints a grim picture of its psychological implications. However, does the unequal distribution of income or wealth cause these implications? Perhaps inequality, mistrust, status anxiety, ill health and social disconnection are all merely symptoms of an underlying disease of the economic system.</p>
<p>This alternative account cannot be dismissed in full, but it is clearly not the whole story. Causal links between inequality and its supposed effects can be demonstrated by longitudinal and experimental research.</p>
<p>For example, a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311993586_Income_Inequality_Life_Satisfaction_and_Economic_Worries">recent study</a> tracked national income inequality and life satisfaction from 1984 to 2012 in a large representative survey of Germans. In years when inequality was relatively high, life satisfaction tended to be lower. This relationship was completely accounted for by higher levels of economic worry in more unequal years.</p>
<p>Experiments also demonstrate inequality can cause ill effects. In <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281634828_Inequality_and_visibility_of_wealth_in_experimental_social_networks">one study</a>, participants engaged in a public goods game in which they could make mutually beneficial contributions to neighbours or free-ride on them. Subsequently they could decide whether to maintain or break their links to those neighbours. </p>
<p>Participants were randomly assigned to begin the game under conditions of equality, or medium or high inequality. The study found when inequality of wealth was visible, higher inequality had adverse consequences. </p>
<p>Under these conditions, richer participants were less likely to contribute to poorer ones and behaved in a self-interested way to retain their wealth. Overall cooperation among participants dropped, the network of social connections thinned out and opportunities for wealth creation were missed.</p>
<p>Findings such as these indicate economic inequality has very real psychological and social consequences. Understanding how inequality affects mind and behaviour will be crucial if we are to make adequate sense of its broader social effects.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75183/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Haslam receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>It is well known that economic inequality is rising. In most industrialised nations the distribution of wealth and income is becoming increasingly concentrated. In the United States, the top 10% of earners…Nick Haslam, Professor of Psychology, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/579442016-05-05T17:04:07Z2016-05-05T17:04:07ZHave children? Here’s how kids ruin your romantic relationship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121270/original/image-20160504-9426-j2p7hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bundles of joy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=295730735">Family via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Lots of women look forward to motherhood – getting to know a tiny baby, raising a growing child, developing a relationship with a maturing son or daughter. All over the world, people believe that parenting is the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-011-9865-y">most rewarding part of life</a>. And it’s good that so many mothers treasure that bond with their child, because the transition to parenthood causes profound changes in a woman’s marriage and her overall happiness… and not for the better. </p>
<p>Families usually welcome a baby to the mix with great expectations. But as a mother’s bond with a child grows, it’s likely that her other relationships are deteriorating. I surveyed decades of studies on the psychological effects of having a child to write my book <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118521285.html">“Great Myths of Intimate Relationships: Dating, Sex, and Marriage,”</a> and here’s what the research literature shows.</p>
<h2>Nowhere to go but down?</h2>
<p>When people marry, they’re usually in love and happy to be tying the knot. But after that, things tend to change. On average, couples’ <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.2.222">satisfaction with their marriage</a> declines during the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2001.0055">first years of marriage</a> and, if the decline is <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.118.1.3">particularly steep</a>, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.80.2.237">divorce may follow</a>. The course of true love runs downhill. And that’s before you factor in what happens when it’s time to start buying a carseat and diapers.</p>
<p>For around 30 years, researchers have studied how having children affects a marriage, and the results are conclusive: the relationship between spouses suffers once kids come along. Comparing couples with and without children, researchers found that the rate of the decline in relationship satisfaction is <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/a0013969">nearly twice as steep</a> for couples who have children than for childless couples. In the event that a <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.22.1.41">pregnancy is unplanned</a>, the parents experience even greater negative impacts on their relationship. </p>
<p>The irony is that even as the marital satisfaction of new parents declines, the likelihood of them <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/019251385006004003">divorcing also declines</a>. So, having children may make you miserable, but you’ll be miserable together. </p>
<p>Worse still, this decrease in marital satisfaction likely leads to a change in <em>general</em> happiness, because the biggest <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276">predictor of overall life satisfaction</a> is one’s satisfaction with their spouse.</p>
<p>While the negative marital impact of becoming parents is familiar to fathers and mothers, it is especially insidious because so many young couples think that having children will <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-011-9865-y">bring them closer together</a> or at least <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/352348">will not lead</a> to marital distress. Yet, this belief, that having children will improve one’s marriage, is a tenacious and <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118521285.html">persistent myth</a> among those who are young and in love.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121271/original/image-20160504-27756-82gy7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121271/original/image-20160504-27756-82gy7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121271/original/image-20160504-27756-82gy7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121271/original/image-20160504-27756-82gy7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121271/original/image-20160504-27756-82gy7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121271/original/image-20160504-27756-82gy7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121271/original/image-20160504-27756-82gy7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121271/original/image-20160504-27756-82gy7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Have I turned your world upside down yet?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=286988390">Baby image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lovers morph into parents</h2>
<p>It seems obvious that adding a baby to a household is going to change its dynamics. And indeed, the arrival of children <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=mCQZR7aLn6oC&oi=fnd&pg=PA79&dq=Becoming+a+family:+Marriage,+parenting,+and+child+development&ots=OtEXNeMf58&sig=KkAUrJr9iI1IjqHM0Zr3fLC0mw8#v=onepage&q=Becoming%20a%20family%3A%20Marriage%2C%20parenting%2C%20and%20child%20development&f=false">changes how couples interact</a>. Parents often become more distant and businesslike with each other as they attend to the details of parenting. Mundane basics like keeping kids fed, bathed and clothed take energy, time and resolve. In the effort to keep the family running smoothly, parents discuss carpool pickups and grocery runs, instead of sharing the latest gossip or their thoughts on presidential elections. Questions about one’s day are replaced with questions about whether this diaper looks full.</p>
<p>These changes can be profound. Fundamental identities may shift – from wife to mother, or, at a more intimate level, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/019251385006004004">from lovers to parents</a>. Even in same-sex couples, the arrival of children predicts less relationship satisfaction and sex. Beyond sexual intimacy, new parents tend to stop saying and doing <a href="http://doi.org/10.2307/1130005">the little things</a> that please their spouses. Flirty texts are replaced with messages that read like a grocery receipt.</p>
<p>With nearly half of all births being to <a href="http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2014/03/2014-03-07_generations-report-version-for-web.pdf">unmarried couples</a>, some parents may think they have gamed the system by skipping the wedding. Not so. The relationship burden of having children is present regardless of marital status, gender orientation or level of income. In addition, the adverse impact of becoming a parent is <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00434.x">found in other countries</a>, including those with greater rates of nonmarital parenting and more generous family policies. </p>
<h2>Moms bear the brunt</h2>
<p>Not surprisingly, it is mothers, not fathers, who bear the heaviest cost of becoming parents. Even when both parents work outside the home and even in marriages in which both spouses describe themselves as sharing the burden of household chores, most parents slide toward <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00459.x">gender-stereotypical ways of parenting</a>. Women are more likely to become the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00356.x">“on call” parent</a>, the one who gets up in the night to bring a child a tissue or who’s called by the school nurse.</p>
<p>As part of this pattern, new mothers tend to cut their hours in outside work, which often leads fathers to feel more of the burden of financial responsibility. A common pattern emerges in which dads start spending more time and energy on outside work and moms start doing an increasing percentage of the <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=1992-97452-000">childcare and housework</a>. Cue the feelings of <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_transition_to_parenthood.html?id=PEBs4MyNpycC">frustration, guilt and distress</a> for both parents.</p>
<p>New mothers often talk about their social isolation, becoming disconnected from friends and colleagues and how their world feels like it’s shrinking. All of these changes lead to fundamental and long-lasting effects on new mothers’ circle of support, including with their spouses. </p>
<p>The consequences of the relationship strain can be serious. Marital stress is associated with many serious <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0022022115587026">physical health problems</a> as well as symptoms of <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/a0038267">depression and other mental health problems</a>. The link between psychological and marital problems is strong enough that researchers have found that couples therapy is one of the most effective ways of treating <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7358(98)00023-3">depression</a> and some other <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2011.00242.x">mental illnesses</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121272/original/image-20160504-22761-chl8j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121272/original/image-20160504-22761-chl8j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121272/original/image-20160504-22761-chl8j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121272/original/image-20160504-22761-chl8j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121272/original/image-20160504-22761-chl8j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121272/original/image-20160504-22761-chl8j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121272/original/image-20160504-22761-chl8j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121272/original/image-20160504-22761-chl8j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">So long, son.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=388726507">Moving image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A light at the end of the tunnel?</h2>
<p>If the arrival of children is hard on marriages, is the departure of children good for marriages? Some marriages do improve once the children <a href="http://doi.org/10.2307/2095629">leave the nest</a>. In other cases, the successful launch of the children leads spouses to discover they have few shared interests and there’s <a href="http://doi.org/10.2307/353453">nothing keeping them together</a>. </p>
<p>These downsides to having children may partly explain why more and more women in the United States and <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN/">around the world</a> are choosing not to procreate. According to the U.S. Census, the percent of childless American women (ages 15-44) increased a staggering amount in just two generations: <a href="https://www.census.gov/hhes/fertility/data/cps/historical.html">from 35 percent in 1976 to 47 percent in 2010</a>. </p>
<p>Despite the dismal picture of motherhood painted by researchers like me (sorry Mom), most mothers (and fathers) rate parenting as their <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-011-9865-y">greatest joy</a>. Much like childbirth, where nearly all mothers believe the pain and suffering was worth it, most mothers believe the rewards of watching their children grow up is worth the cost to their romantic relationships.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57944/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew D. Johnson has received funding from the Research Foundation of the State University of New York, the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation, and the American Psychological Association.</span></em></p>Fall in love, have a baby, watch your happiness and satisfaction plummet. Psychology researchers know the transition to parenthood can be rough on relationships.Matthew D. Johnson, Chair & Professor of Psychology and Director of the Marriage and Family Studies Laboratory, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/309342014-10-21T05:30:44Z2014-10-21T05:30:44ZWhy our happiness and satisfaction should replace GDP in policy making<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60430/original/n6c59bmv-1412089306.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1024%2C683&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Counting on GDP misses the mood.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ansik/304526237/in/photolist-sUM3n-7kwzn-6toDi3-bjA1NT-9ZqaAG-5Dcw6v-KcRqN-6gGvKX-bjA1bX-bjA1EH-cAnHNj-cAnGJS-jyXYPF-aP77Lk-tFSvm-3gi5Xo-7Fikp7-Nva7n-7JiyY-6HRCJD-4dXbFL-8akRkC-eA2jy2-9gBZoF-eX2rfC-abWJo3-7HNYSF-6XgqHZ-6Xgqtt-7nVw4E-7AG4pk-7DmLiG-4Aoy8M-7HNYJK-jg2ChQ-6nL96h-bbHcHe-5mzkHd------cAnHio-FfMm7-bjA1v2-bjzYAF-bjA1Ac-6Px7rQ-7rTqi">Anssi Koskinen</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since 1990, GDP per person in China <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_pcap_cd&idim=country:CHN:IND&hl=en&dl=en#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=ny_gdp_pcap_cd&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=region&idim=country:CHN&ifdim=region&hl=en_US&dl=en&ind=false">has doubled and then redoubled</a>. With average incomes multiplying fourfold in little more than two decades, one might expect many of the Chinese people to be dancing in the streets. Yet, when asked about their satisfaction with life, they are, if anything, <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/109/25/9775.full">less satisfied</a> than in 1990.</p>
<p>The disparity indicated by these two measures of human progress, Gross Domestic Product and Subjective Well Being (SWB), makes pretty plain the issue at hand. GDP, the well-being indicator commonly used in policy circles, signals an outstanding advance in China. SWB, as indicated by self-reports of overall satisfaction with life, suggests, if anything, a worsening of people’s lives. Which measure is a more meaningful index of well-being? Which is a better guide for public policy?</p>
<p>A few decades ago, economists – the most influential social scientists shaping public policy – would have said that the SWB result for China demonstrates the meaninglessness of self-reports of well-being. Economic historian Deirdre McCloskey, writing in 1983, <a href="http://www.imprsd.de/courses/01ws/mccloskey.pdf">aptly put the typical attitude of economists</a> this way: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Unlike other social scientists, economists are extremely hostile towards questionnaires and other self-descriptions… One can literally get an audience of economists to laugh out loud by proposing ironically to send out a questionnaire on some disputed economic point. Economists… are unthinkingly committed to the notion that only the externally observable behaviour of actors is admissible evidence in arguments concerning economics.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Culture clash</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62248/original/62pwfmxw-1413814535.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62248/original/62pwfmxw-1413814535.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62248/original/62pwfmxw-1413814535.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62248/original/62pwfmxw-1413814535.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62248/original/62pwfmxw-1413814535.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62248/original/62pwfmxw-1413814535.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62248/original/62pwfmxw-1413814535.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62248/original/62pwfmxw-1413814535.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Walking the walk. Sarko opened the door to SWB.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/number10gov/4711673518/in/photolist-8bmyoj-K7oox-KPVR1-KQ5yV-KQ5z8-stMm-4HU1Qy-Mfn5g-K7gmy-K77ss-9z76fx-5DZBuK-KCeGW-bnXZsZ-azXQSx-bSvbrg-KPSkb-KCca3-6zk3BM-6De81p-9Ymp18-4swfPb-KQ5yZ-7Fo2wp-83PwCg-9h9g2K-5a8Gfv-8S5BQa-8boHmJ-9UPtyP-6d3SG7-MfmZM-5vD3YK-Mf9Kb-8M9g61-2vGHMG-jkBmBi-7KWznL-KCeGJ-8boHho-KfDXj-4XnGeH-fz9C5m-fz9Ctf-fz9BTj-4eTyGV-fyUkGX-5N7mYA-8Mm1V6-67jbAC">Number 10</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But times have changed. A <a href="http://www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr/en/index.htm">commission established by the then French president, Nicolas Sarkozy</a> in 2008 and charged with recommending alternatives to GDP as a measure of progress, stated bluntly (my emphasis): </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Research has shown that it is possible to collect meaningful and reliable data on <em>subjective</em> as well as objective well-being … The types of questions that have proved their value within small-scale and unofficial surveys should be included in larger-scale surveys undertaken by official statistical offices. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This 25-member commission was <a href="http://www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr/en/membres.htm">comprised almost entirely of economists</a>, five of whom had won the Nobel Prize in economics. Two of the five co-chaired the commission. </p>
<p>These days the tendency with new measures of our well-being – such as life satisfaction and happiness – is to propose that they be used as a complement to GDP. But what is one to do when confronted with such a stark difference between SWB and GDP, as in China? What should one say? People in China are better off than ever before, people are no better off than before, or “it depends”? </p>
<h2>Commonalities</h2>
<p>To decide this issue, we need to delve deeper into what has happened in China. When we do that, the superiority of SWB becomes apparent: it can capture the multiple dimensions of people’s lives. GDP, in contrast, focuses exclusively on the output of material goods. </p>
<p>People everywhere in the world spend most of their time trying to earn a living and raise a healthy family. The easier it is for them to do this, the happier they are. This is the lesson of a 1965 classic, <a href="http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/7023">The Pattern of Human Concerns</a>, by public opinion survey specialist Hadley Cantril. In the 12 countries – rich and poor, communist and non-communist – that Cantril surveyed, the same highly personal concerns dominated determinants of happiness: standard of living, family, health and work. Broad social issues such as inequality, discrimination and international relations, were rarely mentioned. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62245/original/4gq89jp5-1413814326.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62245/original/4gq89jp5-1413814326.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62245/original/4gq89jp5-1413814326.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62245/original/4gq89jp5-1413814326.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62245/original/4gq89jp5-1413814326.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62245/original/4gq89jp5-1413814326.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62245/original/4gq89jp5-1413814326.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62245/original/4gq89jp5-1413814326.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Going against the grain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/symic/4829325449/in/photolist-5LZrPf-DWNv6-i9nFR1-5TxTW2-nM7178-oeZL5y-ghUqw-i8VE68-53LUUg-i8Vasi-8mKycT-7jxGR6-9bXwNA-8s6vVL-owanMf-9JBcCu-8AP3k-5EY5QQ-oeW4gY-dLrC4p-7BfZEn-dLrxap">Andres Rodriguez</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Urban China in 1990 was essentially a mini-welfare state. Workers had what has been called an <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/special_report/1999/09/99/china_50/iron.htm">“iron rice bowl”</a> – they were assured of jobs, housing, medical services, pensions, childcare and jobs for their grown children. </p>
<p>With the coming of capitalism, and “restructuring” of state enterprises, the iron rice bowl was smashed and these assurances went out the window. Unemployment soared and the social safety net disappeared. The security that workers had enjoyed was gone and <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/109/25/9775.full">the result was that life satisfaction plummeted</a>, especially among the less-educated, lower-income segments of the population.</p>
<p>Although working conditions have improved somewhat in the past decade, the shortfall from the security enjoyed in 1990 remains substantial. The positive effect on well-being of rising incomes has been negated by rapidly rising material aspirations and the emergence of urgent concerns about income and job security, family, and health.</p>
<h2>The case to replace</h2>
<p>Examples of the disparity between SWB and GDP as measures of well-being could easily be multiplied. Since the early 1970s real GDP per capita in the US has doubled, <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp7187.pdf">but SWB has, if anything, declined</a>. In international comparisons, Costa Rica’s per capita GDP is a quarter of that in the US, but Costa Ricans are as happy or happier than Americans <a href="http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/Sachs%20Writing/2012/World%20Happiness%20Report.pdf">when we look at SWB data</a>. Clearly there is more to people’s well-being that the output of goods.</p>
<p>There are some simple, yet powerful arguments to say that we should use SWB in preference to GDP, not just as a complement. For a start, those SWB measures like happiness or life satisfaction are more comprehensive than GDP. They take into account the effect on well-being not just of material living conditions, but of the wide range of concerns in our lives.</p>
<p>It is also key that with SWB, the judgement of well-being is made by the individuals affected. GDP’s reliance on outside statistical “experts” to make inferences based on a measure they themselves construct looks deeply flawed when viewed in comparison. These judgements by outsiders also lie behind the growing number of multiple-item measures being put forth these days. An example is the <a href="http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi">United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI)</a> which attempts to combine data on GDP with indexes of education and life expectancy. </p>
<p>But people do not identify with measures like HDI (or GDP, of course) to anywhere near the extent that they do with straightforward questions of happiness and satisfaction with life. And crucially, these SWB measures offer each adult a vote and only one vote, whether they are rich or poor, sick or well, native or foreign-born. This is not to say that, as measures of well-being go, SWB is the last word, but clearly it comes closer to capturing what is actually happening to people’s lives than GDP ever will. The question is whether policy makers actually want to know.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is part of an ongoing series, <strong>Beyond GDP</strong>, which looks at the dominance of GDP in economic thinking and how that might change. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/beyondgdp">Read more here</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30934/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard A. Easterlin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Since 1990, GDP per person in China has doubled and then redoubled. With average incomes multiplying fourfold in little more than two decades, one might expect many of the Chinese people to be dancing…Richard A. Easterlin, Professor of Economics, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/248182014-03-26T06:13:34Z2014-03-26T06:13:34ZVicars may be jumping for joy but satisfaction surveys require more searching questions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44705/original/4kb8mkdp-1395760205.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The good life.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kynetyx/3916439039/">Charles Clegg </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How happy are you in your job? Very happy or very unhappy? <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26671221">New data</a> suggests that the happiest workers in the UK occupy jobs in the clergy. The next happiest workers are CEOs, and “managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture”. The unhappiest workers are debt collectors, elementary construction workers and publicans.</p>
<p>It would seem that, from the perspective of raising average life satisfaction, the UK would be better off if it had more vicars and fewer pub landlords. Perhaps we should worry less about the decline in the number of pubs and instead hope – or pray – for an increase in church congregations.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44709/original/838wspwx-1395764172.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44709/original/838wspwx-1395764172.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1024&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44709/original/838wspwx-1395764172.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1024&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44709/original/838wspwx-1395764172.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1024&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44709/original/838wspwx-1395764172.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1287&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44709/original/838wspwx-1395764172.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1287&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44709/original/838wspwx-1395764172.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1287&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26671221">ONS, BBC</a></span>
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<p>But there are some serious issues with <a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/life-in-the-uk--2014/index.html">life satisfaction data</a>. Without doubt these data can be useful. But they can also be misleading and potentially dangerous if interpreted in the wrong way. The point is that we need to ask deeper questions about the quality of our lives that conventional survey questions cannot fully grasp. This point applies in particular to the use of life satisfaction data as a putative measure of the quality of jobs.</p>
<h2>More money, fewer problems</h2>
<p>In some senses, the results are about what we would expect. Those in better paid jobs generally tend to report higher levels of life satisfaction – while money may have its limits in buying happiness, it is certainly better in welfare terms to have a well paid job than one that still leaves you poor. </p>
<p>The results also suggest the importance of the intrinsic rewards of work. CEOs, for example, benefit not just from high pay but also from being their own bosses. By contrast, workers in jobs with a low degree of autonomy such as telesales report low life satisfaction. There also seems to be a boost to well-being from working outdoors – farmers rank as the eighth most satisfied occupational group.</p>
<p>The result for members of the clergy – that vicars and priests tend to report high life satisfaction – can be explained by the fact that they do work for reasons other than money and in the act of working they gain high intrinsic rewards that compensate them for lower wages. Work, in the case of the clergy, is more a “calling” than a means to affluence.</p>
<h2>Odd ones out</h2>
<p>But there are also some anomalies. Company secretaries are relatively lowly paid but report high life satisfaction. Can we say that these workers gain high non-monetary rewards in work that more than compensates them for their below average pay?</p>
<p>However, they are unlikely to report such satisfaction based solely on their income and the nature of the job. One other important factor may be the lower norms of the mostly female workers employed as company secretaries. They don’t expect to be their own bosses, to work for a “higher calling” or to earn millions, and their norms will be set accordingly. If we factor in their lower norms, company secretaries need not be seen as so joyous.</p>
<p>The point to stress is that life satisfaction data is subject to bias. Two workers doing the same job may rate their life satisfaction differently owing to differences in the norms they hold – what ought their job be like? Are long hours appropriate?</p>
<p>The same argument applies for differences in expectations and aspirations about life and work. The company secretary who does not expect to progress in the organisation in which she works need not feel dissatisfied with her life if she has few opportunities to climb the career ladder. Low aspirations can lead to an acceptance of limited opportunities which in turn may inflate reported life satisfaction.</p>
<p>Of course, this same argument works the other way round too. A high flying CEO would be unlikely to maintain his or her life satisfaction if asked to trade places with his or her secretary, even if the two occupations maintain a similarly high level of life satisfaction.</p>
<h2>Signals and noise</h2>
<p>Given how norms and expectations as well as aspirations impact on peoples’ perceptions of the quality of their lives, then data on life satisfaction becomes a very noisy signal of well-being. The immediate danger is that we see company secretaries and CEOs as leading similarly happy lives when in reality the gulf in well-being between the two groups is huge. </p>
<p>Following the same argument, the low reported life satisfaction of those in poorly paid jobs may actually underestimate the hardships they face in their lives inside and outside work. For similar reasons, job satisfaction data is likely to be just as <a href="http://www.pieria.co.uk/articles/why_reported_job_satisfaction_is_a_poor_guide_to_job_quality_in_britain">unreliable as an indicator</a> of job quality.</p>
<p>Critics of subjective well-being data such as Nobel laureate <a href="http://scholar.harvard.edu/sen">Amartya Sen</a> have long argued that well-being should be understood in more objective terms. We should be assessing the quality of occupations like company secretary and CEO based on what the jobs themselves enable people to be and do in their lives, not on subjective assessments of life satisfaction.</p>
<p>If, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26671221">as reported</a>, the Cabinet Office is working on a web-based calculator that will allow people to make better career choices, it would be better advised to devote resources to compiling data on the different qualitative features of jobs. Certainly, this would be better than relying on the blunt instrument of a one-shot question about life satisfaction, which may hide more than it reveals about the quality of jobs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24818/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Spencer receives funding from the EU FP7, ESRC, and EPSRC</span></em></p>How happy are you in your job? Very happy or very unhappy? New data suggests that the happiest workers in the UK occupy jobs in the clergy. The next happiest workers are CEOs, and “managers and proprietors…David Spencer, Professor of Economics and Political Economy, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.