Five things you didn't know about happiness
With the UN’s International Day of Happiness just around the corner on March 20, here are five things you might not know about happiness.
In brief
- Happiness at work doesn’t necessarily make you more productive.
- Money may not buy happiness, but the world’s happiest nations tend to be among the most prosperous.
- The 5th edition of the UN's World Happiness Report will be released on the UN's International Day of Happiness on March 20, 2017.
Happiness and productivity
Happiness at work doesn’t necessarily make you more productive. While this is often assumed to be the case, some theorists suggest the idea misrepresents enthusiasm on the job as psychological wellbeing. Others note that unhappy workers can be quite productive, too.
Happiness is contagious
According to the Sydney Happiness Institute’s Tim Sharp, aka Dr Happy, happiness is contagious. So if you are feeling glum, go hang out with happy people.
Can money buy happiness?
Money may not buy happiness, but the world’s happiest nations tend to be among the most prosperous. According to the UN’s World Happiness Report, the happiest nations in 2016 were Denmark (18th on GDP per capita), Switzerland (7th on GDP per capita) and Iceland (21st on GDP per capita). New Zealand was eighth happiest (28th on GDP per capita) and Australia ninth (17th on GDP per capita). The least happy country was poverty-stricken Burundi (155th on GDP per capita), just behind war-torn Syria.
Can't buy me love
Money can’t buy you love… but people keep on trying. According to a recent report by Marketdata Enterprises Inc, dating services are a US$2.5b business in the United States alone.
The happiest profession
The Guardian picks engineers as the happiest profession, with an average salary of £40k. Recruiters are the happiest workers, according to CareerBliss.com – perhaps because their work brings joy to others – on an average salary of US$56k.
More on the UN’s International Day of Happiness can be found here.
