So to the big question of the day. Can money buy happiness? Hmm, let me think about that for a minute…
As much as I’d like to say yes (because I’d certainly feel a bit happier if I were a bit better off financially – at least, I think I would), the answer isn’t so clear cut, as Gallup pollsters found out recently. What’s more, do people across the world feel differently about money and happiness as we do here in the UK?
The survey, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, quizzed more than 136,000 people from 132 countries. It didn’t exactly break new ground in terms of revealing that, yes, happiness – or rather life satisfaction – does increase with higher incomes (other earlier studies have done just that). But they also found that postive feelings – which are associated with happiness, granted, but not quite the same thing – were associated with other things as well as cold hard cash, including having job satisfaction, feeling respected and having social support.
“Everybody has been looking at just life satisfaction and income,” said University of Illinois professor emeritus of psychology Ed Diener, a senior scientist with the Gallup Organization. “And while it is true that getting richer will make you more satisfied with your life, it may not have the big impact we thought on enjoying life.”
That’s particularly good to know, given the current economic climate and financial turmoil many people find themselves in right now. So cast your money worries aside if you can – it’s a beautiful day, go out and enjoy it.