ThePewresearchersspeculatethatthisisbecausemorewomenthanmenareunemployedbychoice,althoughthestudydidn』tattempttoteaseapartthatdifference.
ChrisPeterson,ahappinessresearcherattheUniversityofMichigan,suspectsthereareotherfactorsatplayaswell.「Otherstudieshavefoundthatifamanloseshisjob,itcanhavebothshort-termandlong-termpsychologicaleffects,evenifhefindsanotherjobwithequalsalary,」hesays.「Forwomenit』snotunemploymentthatleadstounhappiness,butdivorce.」
Inaddition,Petersonstressesthatmoneymatterslessthanyou』dthink.「Theengagedcustodianismorelikelytobehappythantheindependentlywealthy,unengagedmillionaire,」hesays.「Wedidn』tevolvetoberetiredandsitonthecouch.」
TimeforFamily，Friends，andCommunity
Inthegrowingfieldofhappinessresearch,onethingisoverwhelminglyclear.Peoplewhoaresociallyengagedaremorelikelytobehappy—andlesslikelytobedepressed—thanthosewhoaren』t.
Infact,TimeMagazinepollfoundthatthefourmostsignificantsourcesofhappiness—children(77percent),friendships(76percent),contributingtothelivesofothers(75percent),andspouse/partner(73percent)—allinvolvedspendingmeaningfultimewithotherpeople.
Theproblem:「We』resocaughtupwithextraordinaryworkburdens,wedon』thavetimetoenjoythepeopleweloveorcontributetothelivesofothers,」saysPost.
Thattimecrunchisquitereal,saysJohndeGraff,presidentofthepublicpolicyorganizationTakeBackYourTime.「Comparedto30yearsago,theaveragefamilynowspendsanextra500hoursperyearworkingoutsidethehome.」
We』realsospendingmoretimegettingtoworkandback.
「Trafficisgettingworseandwe』renotinvestinginmasstransit,」saysdeGraff.「MostofthedataI』veseenshowsthatwe』vedoubledouraveragecommutetimesinthepastgeneration.」
Obviously,itdependsonwhereyoulive—andwhereyouwork.Thosemostimpacted:affluentfamilieswhochoseevenlargerhomesoverlivingclosertoworkandyoungerfamilieswhoarepricedoutofhomesofanysizeclosertocentersofemployment.
HowHappyIsYourCity?GoodUrbanDesign
Whatdoesurbandesignhavetodowithhappiness?Morethanyoumightthink.
「Thedatastronglysuggeststhatrealcommunityandrealfriendshipsareimportantkeystohappiness,」saysPost.「Somecitiesmakethatpossibleinwaysthatothersdon』t.」
Postexplainshowurbandesigncanfacilitatesocialinteraction—orworkagainstit.
「Fortyyearsago,neighborhoodshadsidewalks,frontporches,andparks-geographicalopportunitiesforpeopletobesociallyengaged,」hesays.「Inmanycommunitiestoday,wearelackingthesethings.Wedon』tknowourneighborsanymore.Wejustgetintoourcarpodsandneverseeanyone.Wenolongerhavetheopportunitytostumbleuponhappinessbybeinggoodneighborsinourcommunities.」
Goodurbandesignandeffectivemasstransportationcanalsodeterminehowmuchtimewespendcommutingtowork,andhowmuchtimewespendbehindthewheelofacarrunningerrands—bothofwhichultimatelyimpacttheamountoftimewehaveforjoyfullyengagingwithfriends,family,andcommunity.
GivingforYourOwnGood
Thismaycomeasasurprisetothe「MeGeneration,」buthappinessdoesn』tcomefromlivinginabighouse,buyingthelatesttechno-gadget,andgettingstampsfromexoticlocalesinyourpassport.
Infact,a2005pollbyTimeMagazinefoundthathelpingotherswasamajorsourceofhappinessfor75percentofAmericans.
「Volunteeringisanopportunitytobesociallyengagedandcontributetothelivesofothers,」saysStephenPost,aprofessoratCaseWesternReserveUniversitywhoco-authoredthebookWhyGoodThingsHappentoGoodPeoplewithJillNeimark.「It』snotmaterialgoodsthatmakeushappy—it』shavingpurposeandmeaninginourlives.」
Infact,somerecentresearchsuggeststhatwe』reactuallyhard-wiredforhelping.Eventhinkingabouthelpingothersisenoughtostimulatethepartofourbrainassociatedwithfeel-goodchemicalslikeoxytocin.
Helpingothersdoesn』tjustmakeushappier,there』salsoevidenceitmakesushealthiertoo.「RecentresearchoutofEnglandshowsthatcitieswithhigherratesofvolunteerismhadthelowerratesofdepressionandheartdisease,」saysPost.
Don』thavealotoffreetime?Noworries.Peoplewhovolunteerjusttwohoursperweek(100hoursperyear)enjoylowerratesofdepressionandbetterphysicalhealth.
AsLongAsYouHaveYourHealth
Perhapsitcomesasnosurprisetofindthathealthierpeoplearehappierthanthosewhoaren'tashealthy.Infact,a2006reportpublishedbythePewResearchCenterfoundthat48percentofpeoplewhoratedtheirhealthas「excellent」describedthemselvesas「veryhappy」,whileonly15percentofthosewhoratedtheirhealthas「poor」saidthesame.
Afterall,it』shardertobehappywhenlivingwithchronicpainorillnessorwhenfacedwithapotentiallylife-threateningcondition.
Whilehealthisstronglytiedtohappiness,lackofhealthisevenmorestronglycorrelatedwithlackofhappiness.Ofthosewhoratedtheirhealthas「poor,」awhoppingpercentdescribedthemas「nottoohappy,」whileonly6percentofthosein「excellent」healthsaidthesame.
AccordingtothePewResearchCenter,health—alongwithreligionandmarriage—wereamongthestrongestpredictorsofhappiness,evenwhenadjustingforavarietyofothervariables.
LettheSunshineIn