Gallup Releases Latest National Wellbeing Poll Results

Gallup's deserted front desk. Apparently everyone
was out doing surveys. From The Woodlands Texas.

The Atlantic reports that Gallup, one of the world's leading statistical organizations, has released its 2010 list of countries ranked by wellbeing. Here are the top five, along with how many of its citizens are "thriving" by their own admission:

1. Denmark:  72% thriving
2. Sweden:  69% thriving
3. Canada:  69% thriving
4. Australia:  65% thriving
5. Finland:  64% thriving

Some other interesting factoids:  the U.S. ranks 12th with 59%, which is between Panama and Austria. Also, the United Kingdom ranks 17th with 54%, which is just ahead of Qatar, but just below the United Arab Emirates. It'll be interesting to see if the U.K.'s rank improves once its Gross National Happiness measures kick into gear. As far as I know, none of the countries in the top five has official measures like that (except possibly Canada in the future).

Like the gap between the rich and the poor, there is also a huge gap in wellbeing. In 19 countries, the majority of citizens consider themselves to be thriving, yet in a whopping 67 countries, that percentage falls below 25. Russia is one of these, with 24% of its population thriving. So is China with 12%, which is even lower than Iraq, Libya, and Tunisia. The Chinese government apparently has a long way to go if they're serious about focusing on happiness (which they probably aren't).

The African nation of Chad comes in at the bottom of the list with only 1% of its population thriving. Of course, there may be worse countries out there, but those aren't even well enough to report statistics.

People Who Change Jobs Are Happier

A completely undoctored photo of Sydney.
From Sydney-Australia.biz.

Today the Sydney Morning Herald reports on an Australian study that shows most people change jobs not to seek out more pay, but to seek out more satisfaction--and they usually find it. Around 17% of Australian workers (or 1.2 people) changed jobs in 2008, mostly for reasons of job security and job satisfaction. The National Centre for Vocational Education Research conducted the study.

Dr. Ian Watson, author of the study, says that most changes in jobs do not lead to an increase in pay or job security. "On the other hand," he says, "job changing does lead on average to greater levels of job satisfaction.'' This may occur because workers in new jobs get to learn and use new skills. The study also includes other interesting results, like how extroverts are more likely to change jobs than introverts.

Study Shows Correlation Between Diet and Mental Disorders in Women

Mmm, depression! From Science Daily.

Today the Sydney Morning Herald reports on a new Australian study that shows eating certain foods increase the likelihood of developing depression and anxiety disorders. Lead by Deakin University research fellow Dr. Felice Jacka, the study examined around 1,000 Australian women from all stratas of society. Participants who followed the national dietary guidelines were less likely to have depression.

This correlation happened regardless of the women's socioeconomic status, education, frequency of exercise, whether they smoked or not, and even physical problems like obesity. Dr. Jacka also says, "And conversely, women who mostly ate junk and processed foods were more likely to have depression and exhibit increased psychological symptoms." The study ultimately aims to help prevent depression before it starts.

So this pretty much confirms what a lot of you probably expected anyway. Unfortunately, the news story doesn't go into much detail about how this study was carried out (by listing control groups and the like), so not much else can be inferred from it. For more on how food affects mood, remember to click on my food tag, and especially this list of good foods to eat if you want to be happy.

Australians: Shorter Working Hours May Bring Happiness

Beneficiaries of a shorter work week. From molly in oz.

Hey, it's more news about jobs and stuff. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that four out of five Australians want different hours at work. The survey covered 1,786 people, with 80% of full-time employees wanting fewer hours, while 60% of part-time employees want more.

The results are so striking that many are considering a government-mandated 30- to 35-hour cap on the work week. Adam Bandt of the Greens party says, "People who want to work less should have a right to do so...It's time for government to start ensuring a fairer spread of working hours, so those who want to work more can, and that those who don't, don't have to."

Some businesses disagree with this, saying that a government mandate would act as a "straight jacket." On the other hand, as I've said time and time again, happy employees are more productive and ultimately lead to more profitable companies, so if shorter hours lead to happiness, that would in fact be good for business. As Richard Denniss, executive director of The Australia Institute, says, "Having happy, productive, retained workers is far more important for the productivity of the country…than short-term attempts to keep wages bills down by relying on lots of unpaid overtime, burning out your employees."

So what do you Internet people think? What are the working hours in your country and are you happy with them? I personally think Americans put too much focus on work, so a shorter work week might be good for this country, but maybe that's just me.

Australian School Teaching Positive Psychology to Alleviate Test Anxiety

From The Sydney Morning Herald.

More Australian news for you today:  The Sydney Morning Herald reports that schools are teaching students life coaching and positive psychology skills because of greatly increased stress levels. Over the past five years, students appealing their test scores for psychological reasons have increased 30 percent--greater than the increase in the student population. So either students are getting craftier in how they improve their grades or they really are more stressed out.

Dr. Anthony Grant of the University of Sydney's psychology department says, "The children of today, particularly those in selective schools, are under more pressure than they have ever been before." Dr. Grant studied 56 high school students and found that life coaching decreases levels of depression while increasing hope and resilience. He became interested in the subject because two or three principals called him per week asking for positive psychology classes. Another study from the University of Sydney found that high-stakes testing harms motivation.

I don't have much more to say about this story, but I do have a SPECIAL MESSAGE for those who read this blog every day (hopefully you exist):  I might not be able to update this blog until next Tuesday because I'm attending the Global Happiness Summit near San Francisco! I'll try to take pictures and tell you how it goes, but I don't know if I'll have the time or the Internet connection to update while I'm there. It'll be a change of pace for this blog, but that's okay because variety is actually a big component of happiness!

Another Study Finds That Happiness Depends on Life Goals and Choices

What I imagine Melbourne University
looks like. From BUGBOG.

Hi! Sorry for the slow news day, folks, but today the only story seems to be this one from Australia's The Age. On weekdays I'm a slave to the news, so here it is! A new study by Bruce Heady of Melbourne University found that around 40% of people experience large fluctuations in happiness over their lifetime. These results may seem obvious, but the study is notable for being so large:  the researchers looked at 60,000 Germans over 25 years.

Altruistic and relationship-oriented goals were found to be the best at creating happiness, while materialistic goals created the most unhappiness. Some say that these results go against Sonja Lyubomirsky's findings that 40% of our happiness can be changed (with 50% determined by genetics and 10% determined by circumstances like economic status). The article doesn't go into much detail about just how much the respondents' happiness changed.

I don't have much more to say about this story, so how was your weekend? Me, I didn't do much, but it's finally raining in California! It's been so long. Also check out this Falling Sand Game. You might have seen it already, but at least it's something to do on a slow day.

One Out of Two Australian Men Want to Trade in Their Girlfriends for Someone New

Think this kangaroo is satisfied with his current relationship? Think again. From sydney-australia.biz

Is Australia a nation of criminals? Maybe, but apparently it's also a nation of men dissatisfied with their partners. The Herald Sun reports on a new study that shows half the Australian men surveyed think that the key to happiness is a different woman. This is higher than the 44% of women surveyed who want a new man. Perhaps even more shocking are the whopping three-quarters of men who say their current relationships are not fulfilling enough.

Now don't go thinking that this is a problem with romance. According to Daniel Gilbert's Stumbling on Happiness (a book I reference a lot), people are often dissatisfied with what they have, as long as there are other choices available. This, of course, is also a part of common wisdom. Just remember the phrase, "The grass is always greener on the other side." The point is that unhappiness with choices is a part of the human psyche, not necessarily a problem with the relationship itself. If this is the case, then all these roving Australian men will probably NOT feel happy within a new relationship, unless they feel they have no other choice.

So, anyone feel like sharing? What do you think about romantic relationships and their relation to happiness?

Pet Talk

Picture not by me, unfortunately, but I forgot the source!

Hey gang. Today I'm going to talk about pets and their effect on happiness. It's a little off the beaten path for a weekday, but the daily news isn't so interesting right now. Necessity is the mother of invention, so let's get to it!

A May 2009 article on Physorg reports that Australia has saved around $3.86 billion in healthcare due to the health benefits of pets. Not only do pets increase happiness, they also help children learn empathy, and may help autistic children speak. After further research, prescriptions for pet ownership may not be far off.

So how about it? What benefits do YOU have from pet ownership? Feel free to post pics in the comments to break up this slow news day!