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Americans are unhappier than ever — here's how to find joy in troubled times
A new poll found Americans are the unhappiest they've been in 50 years, but there are ways to feel happier — even during a global pandemic.

Rather than noticing what you don’t have, pause to give gratitude for what you do have.

Rather than noticing what you don’t have, pause to give gratitude for what you do have.

Getty Images

April 20, 2020, 2:13 PM PDT / Updated June 16, 2020, 12:23 PM PDT

By Nicole Spector

Americans are the unhappiest they've been in 50 years, according to the COVID Response Tracking Study, conducted in late-May by NORC at the University of Chicago. Only 14% of respondents said they were very happy, down 31% from the same period in 2018.

During such painful times, the idea of cultivating personal happiness might seem trivial — selfish, even — but it might just be more important now than ever before.

“All of this negative energy taxes the mind, body and spirit,” says Carla Marie Manly, a clinical psychologist and author of “Joy From Fear: Create The Life Of Your Dreams By Making Fear Your Friend.” “As such, it’s vital to intentionally counteract this toxic, fearful energy with a conscientious investment in creating happiness.”

‘Happiness Lab’ professor Laurie Santos shares 5 ways to feel better
Laurie Santos, a professor of psychology at Yale University who teaches the class “The Science of Well-Being” (an online version is presently free on Coursera), argues the importance of cultivating happiness for its potential health benefits alone. “There's evidence that positive moods can boost our immune system and can protect us from respiratory viruses, so it's not something to feel guilty about; it's a smart strategy just like washing our hands.”
But how does one actually boost happiness during a global pandemic? It’s certainly not as simple or tactile as washing one’s hands — but there are actions we can take to manifest joy. Here’s what experts recommend:

· 1. Double down on physical self-care — especially exercise. Gretchen Rubin, author of numerous books including “The Happiness Project” and host of the weekly podcast “Happier with Gretchen Rubin,” says that the first step in boosting happiness is to take care of your body. “Your physical experience will always influence your emotional experience,” she says. “And exercise is the magical elixir of life.” Even light yoga or taking a quick walk can do the trick, Manly says, adding: “Research shows that a mere 12 minute walk is sufficient to create an upbeat, happy mood.”

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· 2. Meditate. “You’ll actually foster inner joy by slowing to meditate for even five minutes at a time,” says Manly. “Meditation increases feel-good neurochemicals, as it reduces stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.”

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· 3. Improve sleep hygiene. A good night’s sleep is hard to come by when you’re self-quarantined in a global pandemic, but rest is crucial to both physical and mental wellness. Take extra measures to at least try to regulate your sleep. “I recommend setting an alarm to go to bed, just as you set one to wake up in the morning,” says Rubin.

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· 4. Connect with other people. “Ancient philosophers and contemporary scientists agree that connecting with people is truly important,” Rubin says, adding that even if we’re alone in quarantine, we mustn’t deprive ourselves of social interaction. “We’re fortunate that we have so much technology we can use to connect with people who aren’t nearby. Now is also the time to look out for our loved ones who may not know how to use these technologies. Make sure they’re not left out or isolated.”

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· 5. Make your bed and declutter your space. “A lot of people feel more inner calm and happiness when their outer surroundings are more clutter-free,” says Rubin, who wrote the book, “Outer Order, Inner Calm.” “Decluttering can be difficult now, with more people home and a heavier load on your household, but whatever you can do can help give you a sense of control over your life. Making your bed, for instance, actually can make you feel better.”

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· 6. Experience nature — even if that’s just looking at a photo. We may have to work a bit harder to access nature right now, with many county and state parks closed, but if you can put that extra effort in, you’ll likely be happy you did. “Exposure to natural environments has been linked with better general health and less stress,” says Allison Buskirk-Cohen, associate professor and chair of the psychology department at Delaware Valley University. “Studies have shown that natural environments are associated with lower brain activity in the frontal lobes and low frequency brainwaves. In other words, our brains relax more. For those who are unable to get outside, there’s also some research indicating that looking at photographs of natural environments (like pictures of the beach or the mountains) can have similar effects.”

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· 7. Say thank you. “Rather than noticing what you don’t have, pause to give gratitude for what you do have,” says Manly. “For example, if you are unable to take your regular yoga class, focus instead on the freedom you have to enjoy the myriad classes [online].” The trick here is to really immerse yourself in gratitude not only by say, writing down a list of things you’re grateful for, but by thanking everyone who crosses your path, including yourself. “Whether you thank the delivery person for the load of boxed groceries, your partner for bringing you a cup of tea or yourself for finishing a work project, your happiness level will increase when gratitude flows,” Manly says. Participating in acts of gratitude that are larger than yourself are also highly recommended. For instance, Rubin, who is located in New York City, feels joy each evening when at 7 p.m., she and her family cheer on healthcare workers from their window. “One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make others happy. So ask yourself, ‘How can I lift other people’s spirits?’”

Mayo Clinic

Depression and anxiety: Exercise eases symptoms
Sept. 27, 2017, Original article: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Depression and anxiety symptoms often improve with exercise. Here are some realistic tips to help you get started and stay motivated. When you have depression or anxiety, exercise often seems like the last thing you want to do. But once you get motivated, exercise can make a big difference.
Exercise helps prevent and improve a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis. Research on depression, anxiety and exercise shows that the psychological and physical benefits of exercise can also help improve mood and reduce anxiety.

The links between depression, anxiety and exercise aren't entirely clear — but working out and other forms of physical activity can definitely ease symptoms of depression or anxiety and make you feel better. Exercise may also help keep depression and anxiety from coming back once you're feeling better.

Regular exercise may help ease depression and anxiety by:

· Releasing feel-good endorphins, natural cannabis-like brain chemicals (endogenous cannabinoids) and other natural brain chemicals that can enhance your sense of well-being

· Taking your mind off worries so you can get away from the cycle of negative thoughts that feed depression and anxiety

Regular exercise has many psychological and emotional benefits, too. It can help you:

· Gain confidence. Meeting exercise goals or challenges, even small ones, can boost your self-confidence. Getting in shape can also make you feel better about your appearance.

· Get more social interaction. Exercise and physical activity may give you the chance to meet or socialize with others. Just exchanging a friendly smile or greeting as you walk around your neighborhood can help your mood.

· Cope in a healthy way. Doing something positive to manage depression or anxiety is a healthy coping strategy. Trying to feel better by drinking alcohol, dwelling on how you feel, or hoping depression or anxiety will go away on its own can lead to worsening symptoms.

Some research shows that physical activity such as regular walking — not just formal exercise programs — may help improve mood. Physical activity and exercise are not the same thing, but both are beneficial to your health.

· Physical activity is any activity that works your muscles and requires energy and can include work or household or leisure activities.

· Exercise is a planned, structured and repetitive body movement done to improve or maintain physical fitness.

The word "exercise" may make you think of running laps around the gym. But exercise includes a wide range of activities that boost your activity level to help you feel better.

Certainly running, lifting weights, playing basketball and other fitness activities that get your heart pumping can help. But so can physical activity such as gardening, washing your car, walking around the block or engaging in other less intense activities. Any physical activity that gets you off the couch and moving can help improve your mood.

You don't have to do all your exercise or other physical activity at once. Broaden how you think of exercise and find ways to add small amounts of physical activity throughout your day. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park a little farther away from work to fit in a short walk. Or, if you live close to your job, consider biking to work.

Doing 30 minutes or more of exercise a day for three to five days a week may significantly improve depression or anxiety symptoms. But smaller amounts of physical activity — as little as 10 to 15 minutes at a time — may make a difference. It may take less time exercising to improve your mood when you do more-vigorous activities, such as running or bicycling.

The mental health benefits of exercise and physical activity may last only if you stick with it over the long term — another good reason to focus on finding activities that you enjoy. Starting and sticking with an exercise routine or regular physical activity can be a challenge. These steps can help:

· Identify what you enjoy doing. Figure out what type of physical activities you're most likely to do, and think about when and how you'd be most likely to follow through. For instance, would you be more likely to do some gardening in the evening, start your day with a jog, or go for a bike ride or play basketball with your children after school? Do what you enjoy to help you stick with it.

· Get your mental health professional's support. Talk to your doctor or mental health professional for guidance and support. Discuss an exercise program or physical activity routine and how it fits into your overall treatment plan.

· Set reasonable goals. Your mission doesn't have to be walking for an hour five days a week. Think realistically about what you may be able to do and begin gradually. Tailor your plan to your own needs and abilities rather than setting unrealistic guidelines that you're unlikely to meet.

· Don't think of exercise or physical activity as a chore. If exercise is just another "should" in your life that you don't think you're living up to, you'll associate it with failure. Rather, look at your exercise or physical activity schedule the same way you look at your therapy sessions or medication — as one of the tools to help you get better.

· Analyze your barriers. Figure out what's stopping you from being physically active or exercising. If you feel self-conscious, for instance, you may want to exercise at home. If you stick to goals better with a partner, find a friend to work out with or who enjoys the same physical activities that you do. If you don't have money to spend on exercise gear, do something that's cost-free, such as regular walking. If you think about what's stopping you from being physically active or exercising, you can probably find an alternative solution.

· Prepare for setbacks and obstacles. Give yourself credit for every step in the right direction, no matter how small. If you skip exercise one day, that doesn't mean you can't maintain an exercise routine and might as well quit. Just try again the next day. Stick with it.

Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program to make sure it's safe for you. Talk to your doctor to find out which activities, how much exercise and what intensity level is OK for you. Your doctor will consider any medications you take and your health conditions. He or she may also have helpful advice about getting started and staying motivated.

If you exercise regularly but depression or anxiety symptoms still interfere with your daily living, see your doctor or mental health professional. Exercise and physical activity are great ways to ease symptoms of depression or anxiety, but they aren't a substitute for talk therapy (psychotherapy) or medications.

References

1. Cooney GM, et al. Exercise for depression. JAMA. 2014;311:2432.

2. Peterson DM. The benefits and risks of exercise. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed Sept. 15, 2017.

3. Greer TL, et al. Improvements in psychosocial functioning and health-related quality of life following exercise augmentation in patients with treatment response but nonremitted major depressive disorder: Results from the TREAD study. Depression and Anxiety. 2016;33:870.

4. Schuch FB, et al. Exercise as treatment for depression: A meta-analysis adjusting for publication bias. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 2016;77:42.

5. Understand physical activity, exercise and your heart. Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. http://www.secondscount.org/healthy-living/physical-activity-exercise#.WbGhPWeWzRF. Accessed Sept. 7, 2017.

6. Physical activity and health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm. Accessed Sept. 7, 2017.

7. Exercise for mental health: 8 keys to get and stay moving. National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/May-2016/Exercise-for-Mental-Health-8-Keys-to-Get-and-Stay. Accessed Sept. 7, 2017.

8. Exercise for stress and anxiety. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety/exercise-stress-and-anxiety. Accessed Sept. 7, 2017.

9. Zschucke E, et al. Exercise and physical activity in mental disorders: Clinical and experimental evidence. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health. 2013;46:512.

10. Anderson E, et al. Effects of exercise and physical activity on anxiety. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2013;4:1.

11. Hall-Flavin DK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Sept. 19, 2017.

Reprint Permissions: A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
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Robert Waldinger

Transcript- What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness

Watch the video here! https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness/transcript?language=en

00:04

What keeps us healthy and happy as we go through life? If you were going to invest now in your future best self, where would you put your time and your energy? There was a recent survey of millennials asking them what their most important life goals were, and over 80 percent said that a major life goal for them was to get rich. And another 50 percent of those same young adults said that another major life goal was to become famous.

00:42

(Laughter)

00:43

And we're constantly told to lean in to work, to push harder and achieve more. We're given the impression that these are the things that we need to go after in order to have a good life. Pictures of entire lives, of the choices that people make and how those choices work out for them, those pictures are almost impossible to get. Most of what we know about human life we know from asking people to remember the past, and as we know, hindsight is anything but 20/20. We forget vast amounts of what happens to us in life, and sometimes memory is downright creative.

01:28

But what if we could watch entire lives as they unfold through time? What if we could study people from the time that they were teenagers all the way into old age to see what really keeps people happy and healthy?

01:47

We did that. The Harvard Study of Adult Development may be the longest study of adult life that's ever been done. For 75 years, we've tracked the lives of 724 men, year after year, asking about their work, their home lives, their health, and of course asking all along the way without knowing how their life stories were going to turn out.

02:16

Studies like this are exceedingly rare. Almost all projects of this kind fall apart within a decade because too many people drop out of the study, or funding for the research dries up, or the researchers get distracted, or they die, and nobody moves the ball further down the field. But through a combination of luck and the persistence of several generations of researchers, this study has survived. About 60 of our original 724 men are still alive, still participating in the study, most of them in their 90s. And we are now beginning to study the more than 2,000 children of these men. And I'm the fourth director of the study.

03:06

Since 1938, we've tracked the lives of two groups of men. The first group started in the study when they were sophomores at Harvard College. They all finished college during World War II, and then most went off to serve in the war. And the second group that we've followed was a group of boys from Boston's poorest neighborhoods, boys who were chosen for the study specifically because they were from some of the most troubled and disadvantaged families in the Boston of the 1930s. Most lived in tenements, many without hot and cold running water.

03:46

When they entered the study, all of these teenagers were interviewed. They were given medical exams. We went to their homes and we interviewed their parents. And then these teenagers grew up into adults who entered all walks of life. They became factory workers and lawyers and bricklayers and doctors, one President of the United States. Some developed alcoholism. A few developed schizophrenia. Some climbed the social ladder from the bottom all the way to the very top, and some made that journey in the opposite direction.

04:27

The founders of this study would never in their wildest dreams have imagined that I would be standing here today, 75 years later, telling you that the study still continues. Every two years, our patient and dedicated research staff calls up our men and asks them if we can send them yet one more set of questions about their lives.

04:51

Many of the inner city Boston men ask us, "Why do you keep wanting to study me? My life just isn't that interesting." The Harvard men never ask that question.

05:02

(Laughter)

05:12

To get the clearest picture of these lives, we don't just send them questionnaires. We interview them in their living rooms. We get their medical records from their doctors. We draw their blood, we scan their brains, we talk to their children. We videotape them talking with their wives about their deepest concerns. And when, about a decade ago, we finally asked the wives if they would join us as members of the study, many of the women said, "You know, it's about time."

05:41

(Laughter)

05:42

So what have we learned? What are the lessons that come from the tens of thousands of pages of information that we've generated on these lives? Well, the lessons aren't about wealth or fame or working harder and harder. The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.

06:14

We've learned three big lessons about relationships. The first is that social connections are really good for us, and that loneliness kills. It turns out that people who are more socially connected to family, to friends, to community, are happier, they're physically healthier, and they live longer than people who are less well connected. And the experience of loneliness turns out to be toxic. People who are more isolated than they want to be from others find that they are less happy, their health declines earlier in midlife, their brain functioning declines sooner and they live shorter lives than people who are not lonely. And the sad fact is that at any given time, more than one in five Americans will report that they're lonely.

07:10

And we know that you can be lonely in a crowd and you can be lonely in a marriage, so the second big lesson that we learned is that it's not just the number of friends you have, and it's not whether or not you're in a committed relationship, but it's the quality of your close relationships that matters. It turns out that living in the midst of conflict is really bad for our health. High-conflict marriages, for example, without much affection, turn out to be very bad for our health, perhaps worse than getting divorced. And living in the midst of good, warm relationships is protective.

07:49

Once we had followed our men all the way into their 80s, we wanted to look back at them at midlife and to see if we could predict who was going to grow into a happy, healthy octogenarian and who wasn't. And when we gathered together everything we knew about them at age 50, it wasn't their middle age cholesterol levels that predicted how they were going to grow old. It was how satisfied they were in their relationships. The people who were the most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80. And good, close relationships seem to buffer us from some of the slings and arrows of getting old. Our most happily partnered men and women reported, in their 80s, that on the days when they had more physical pain, their mood stayed just as happy. But the people who were in unhappy relationships, on the days when they reported more physical pain, it was magnified by more emotional pain.

08:55

And the third big lesson that we learned about relationships and our health is that good relationships don't just protect our bodies, they protect our brains. It turns out that being in a securely attached relationship to another person in your 80s is protective, that the people who are in relationships where they really feel they can count on the other person in times of need, those people's memories stay sharper longer. And the people in relationships where they feel they really can't count on the other one, those are the people who experience earlier memory decline. And those good relationships, they don't have to be smooth all the time. Some of our octogenarian couples could bicker with each other day in and day out, but as long as they felt that they could really count on the other when the going got tough, those arguments didn't take a toll on their memories.

09:53

So this message, that good, close relationships are good for our health and well-being, this is wisdom that's as old as the hills. Why is this so hard to get and so easy to ignore? Well, we're human. What we'd really like is a quick fix, something we can get that'll make our lives good and keep them that way. Relationships are messy and they're complicated and the hard work of tending to family and friends, it's not sexy or glamorous. It's also lifelong. It never ends. The people in our 75-year study who were the happiest in retirement were the people who had actively worked to replace workmates with new playmates. Just like the millennials in that recent survey, many of our men when they were starting out as young adults really believed that fame and wealth and high achievement were what they needed to go after to have a good life. But over and over, over these 75 years, our study has shown that the people who fared the best were the people who leaned in to relationships, with family, with friends, with community.

11:12

So what about you? Let's say you're 25, or you're 40, or you're 60. What might leaning in to relationships even look like?

11:23

Well, the possibilities are practically endless. It might be something as simple as replacing screen time with people time or livening up a stale relationship by doing something new together, long walks or date nights, or reaching out to that family member who you haven't spoken to in years, because those all-too-common family feuds take a terrible toll on the people who hold the grudges.

11:55

I'd like to close with a quote from Mark Twain. More than a century ago, he was looking back on his life, and he wrote this: "There isn't time, so brief is life, for bickerings, apologies, heartburnings, callings to account. There is only time for loving, and but an instant, so to speak, for that."

12:26

The good life is built with good relationships.

12:30

Thank you.

12:31

(Applause)

This Is the Amount of Money You Need to Be Happy,
According to Research
By: Jamie Ducharme- February 14, 2018

Source: http://money.com/money/5157625/ideal-income-study/

Money really can buy happiness, as it turns out — but you might not need as much as you think.

A large analysis published in the journal Nature Human Behavior used data from the Gallup World Poll, a survey of more than 1.7 million people from 164 countries, to put a price on optimal emotional well-being: between $60,000 and $75,000 a year. That aligns with past research on the topic, which found that people are happiest when they make about $75,000 a year.

But while that may be the sweet spot for feeling positive emotions on a day-to-day basis, the researchers found that a higher figure — $95,000 — is ideal for “life evaluation,” which takes into account long-term goals, peer comparisons and other macro-level metrics.

The researchers, from Purdue University, also found that it may be possible to make too much money, as far as happiness is concerned. They observed declines in emotional well-being and life satisfaction after the $95,000 mark, perhaps because being wealthy — past the point required for daily comfort and purchasing power, at least — can lead to unhealthy social comparisons and unfulfilling material pursuits.

Still, the findings don’t mean that getting a huge raise won’t lead to individual satisfaction: It simply suggests, according to the researchers, that a group of people making $200,000 a year is likely no happier than a group of people making $95,000. The well-documented “hedonic treadmill” phenomenon also suggests that people adjust relatively quickly to their newly flush bank accounts, with happiness leveling back off over time.

In the new study, the researchers note that their estimates pertain specifically to individuals, and ideal household income is likely higher. Plus, while the figures in the paper represent global estimates, earning satisfaction also varies widely around the world, and in urban versus rural areas within countries. Certain regions — Western Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, East Asia and the Middle East — had higher financial thresholds for both emotional well-being and life evaluation, while areas including Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa were lower than the global numbers. All told, the ideal income for life evaluation ranged from $35,000 in Latin America to $125,000 in Australia and New Zealand.

In North America, the optimal amount for life evaluation was estimated at $105,000, and the range for emotional well-being was slated at $65,000 to $95,000.

The researchers didn’t observe significant differences between men and women, but they did find that education level influenced monetary ideals. Highly educated people tended to have loftier income satisfaction points, likely because they had higher expectations of wealth and were more susceptible to social comparison.

All said, if your income is below — or above — the researchers’ ideal threshold, don’t despair. Research suggests that while money can buy happiness, the quality of your spending is just as important as the quantity.

The Science of Gratitude PDF (click me)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs PDF (click me)

Happiness & Culture:

Ranked: The 20 Happiest Countries In The World
Laura Begley Bloom Senior Contributor

URL: https://www.outsideonline.com/2412484/happiest-countries-common-traits

At a time like this—when the coronavirus pandemic is sweeping the globe and has killed over 10,000 people—we need some happy news. The annual World Happiness Report has just been released, timed to the UN's annual International Day of Happiness on March 20. For the third year in a row, Finland has placed at the top of the list as the happiest country in the world, with Denmark coming in second, followed by Switzerland, which pushed Norway out of the top three this year. (For tips on how people in Finland stay so happy, check out “Coronavirus Advice: The Happiest People In The World Share 5 Ways To Be Happy.”)

And while it seems like a strange time to be evaluating happiness, the editors of the report point out that challenging times can actually increase happiness. “The global pandemic poses great risks for some of the main supports for well-being, most especially health and income,” the editors explain. “As revealed by earlier studies of earthquakes, floods, storms, tsunamis and even economic crises, a high trust society quite naturally looks for and finds co-operative ways to work together to repair the damage and rebuild better lives. This has led sometimes to surprising increases in happiness in the wake of what might otherwise seem to be unmitigated disasters.”

Finland Happiest Country

Taking a Selfie in Finland, which has ranked as the happiest country in the world for the third year GETTY

The reason that people get happier in the face of disasters? “People are pleasantly surprised by the willingness of their neighbors and their institutions to work in harness to help each other,” the editors write. “This delivers a heightened sense of belonging, and pride in what they have been able to achieve by way of mitigation. These gains are sometimes great enough to compensate for the material losses.”

The World Happiness Report is an annual survey by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations. It looks at the state of global happiness in 156 countries, ranking countries using the Gallup World Poll and six factors: levels of GDP, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom and corruption income. The World Happiness Report was originally launched in 2012.

United States Happiness Report Grand Canyon

The United States raised one point in the 2020 World Happiness Report. Here, a couple is pictured on the rim of the grand canyon GETTY

This year, things have improved slightly for the United States. The U.S. ranked number 18—a slight uptick from last year when it ranked 19, although it’s still far below its 11th place ranking in the first World Happiness Report. Last year’s report explained it: “The years since 2010 have not been good ones for happiness and well-being among Americans.”

So where did other major countries fall on the list? The United Kingdom was at number 13 (up two spots from 2019), Germany was again at 17, Japan was at 62 (down four spots from 2019), Russia was at 73 (down five spots) and China was at 94 (down one spot).

Besides the happiest countries, the World Happiness Report also looked at the places where people are the unhappiest. This year, Afghanistan was named the unhappiest place in the world, followed by South Sudan and Zimbabwe.

For the first time, the 2020 report also ranked the happiest cities around the world. The top 10 is dominated by Scandinavian cities, with Finland’s capital of Helsinki ranking as the happiest city in the world.

On the other end of the spectrum, the unhappiest cities have some common themes. Most are located in underdeveloped countries and have experienced war (Kabul in Afghanistan, Sanaa in Yemen), armed conflict (Gaza in Palestine), civil war (Juba in South Sudan, Bangui in the Central African Republic), political instability (Cairo in Egypt) or devastating natural catastrophes (Port-au-Prince in Haiti).

The editors of the report say their ranking is different from other city lists in that their report doesn’t just rely on factors that researchers consider relevant. “Our ranking relies on city residents’ self-reports of how they themselves evaluate the quality of their lives,” say the editors. “Arguably, this bottom-up approach gives a direct voice to the population as opposed to the more top-down approach of deciding ex-ante what ought to matter for the well-being of city residents.”

Read on for the top 20 happiest countries in the world, as well as the 10 unhappiest places, the 10 happiest cities and the 10 unhappiest cities. And wherever you are, try to stay happy, despite it all.

By the sea Finland Happiest Country

By the sea in Finland, the happiest country in the world. GETTY

World's 20 Happiest Countries
1. Finland

2. Denmark

3. Switzerland

4. Iceland

5. Norway

6. Netherlands

7. Sweden

8. New Zealand

9. Austria

10. Luxembourg

11. Canada

12. Australia

13. United Kingdom

14. Israel

15. Costa Rica

16. Ireland

17. Germany

18. United States

19. Czech Republic

20. Belgium

Afghanistan unhappiest country

A deserted village in Afghanistan, the unhappiest country in the world. GETTY

World's Unhappiest Countries
1. Afghanistan

2. South Sudan

3. Zimbabwe

4. Rwanda

5. Central African Republic

6. Tanzania

7. Botswana

8. Yemen

9. Malawi

10. India

Helsinki Happiest city

Biking through Helsinki, the happiest city in the world. GETTY

World’s Happiest Cities
1. Helsinki, Finland

2. Aarhus, Denmark

3. Wellington, New Zealand

4. Zurich, Switzerland

5. Copenhagen, Denmark

6. Bergen, Norway

7. Oslo, Norway

8. Tel Aviv, Israel

9. Stockholm, Sweden

10. Brisbane, Australia

Kabul Unhappiest City

Overlooking Kabul, the unhappiest city in the world. GETTY

World’s Unhappiest Cities
1. Kabul, Afghanistan

2. Sanaa, Yemen

3. Gaza, Palestine

4. Port-a-Prince, Haiti

5. Juba, South Sudan

6. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

7. Delhi, India

8. Maseru, Lesotho

9. Bangui, Central African Republic

10. Cairo, Egypt

What the Happiest Countries in the World Have in Common
A new United Nations report finds that Scandinavian nations continue to be the happiest in the world. Here's why.
Norway

In late March, the United Nations published the 2020 World Happiness Report, a comprehensive look at what makes the most contented countries work so well. For the seventh year in a row, the Nordic nations of Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden dominated the top ten. While rankings are based on several factors, including political rights and economic equality, these countries have a few key metrics in common: low corruption rates, universal public services, and great access to the outdoors.

For many of these countries, not only is nature within easy reach, but it’s an important part of their cultures. For the Scandinavian nations that take up six of the top-ten spots, the term friluftsliv, which literally translates to “open-air living,” denotes “a philosophical lifestyle based on experiences of the freedom in nature and the spiritual connectedness with the landscape,” according to “ Friluftsliv : The Scandinavian Philosophy of Outdoor Life,” an article in The Canadian Journal of Environmental Education.

Sweden, which ranked seventh on the list, found that nearly one-third of all residents participate in outdoor recreation at least once a week and, in a country that strives for economic equality, nearly 50 percent of the population has access to a summer home. Denmark, ranked second, has forest schools for children to encourage learning in the outdoors at a young age, and one Danish study from 2019 found that children from greener neighborhoods were less likely to develop mental illness. The country is also home to the world’s most bike-friendly city, Copenhagen (though it’s not alone: many of the happiest countries have ideal cities for cyclists). And Finland, which topped the list, boasts 188,000 inland lakes and forests that cover 75 percent of the country.

Finland, Norway, and Sweden also have “freedom to roam” policies, or “everyman’s rights,” which allow residents and visitors alike to hike or camp nearly anywhere, including on private land. It’s also part of the region’s approach to work-life balance: many businesses in Scandinavian countries encourage employees to go outside each day, even implementing policies that set aside time in the workday for fresh air. The most important part of their outdoor philosophy, though, is how they embrace the cold, dark winter months, as is expressed in the popular saying of Norwegian origin that’s now used throughout the region: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.” Parents in Scandinavia are known to let their babies nap outside in freezing temperatures to help them sleep better and longer, Finns embrace harsh conditions with their sauna culture, and when the Danes and Swedes aren’t skiing, sledding, or to tobogganing, they’re practicing hygge, which loosely translates to being cozy.

“For many of these countries, not only is nature within easy reach, but it’s an important part of their cultures.”

The other countries that rounded out the top ten—Switzerland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Austria, and Luxembourg—are also well-known adventure hubs. With its iconic snowcapped peaks, Switzerland is one of Europe’s most popular ski and hiking destinations. New Zealand has a system of ten Great Walks that allow even relatively inexperienced backcountry hikers to experience some of the country’s most beautiful landscapes for days and weeks at a time. The Netherlands is an established haven for cyclists, with residents making more than 25 percent of their daily trips via bike.

The UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network bases its annual report on six categories: GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support, trust and corruption, perceived freedom to make life decisions, and generosity. The rankings are largely based on findings from the Gallup World Poll, a yearly survey conducted in more than 160 nations that evaluates respondents’ perceived quality of life on a scale from one to ten.

By comparison, the U.S ranks 18th in terms of overall happiness, a move up from 19th in 2019. While this can be seen as a good sign, the fluctuation among the top 20 happiest countries is marginal. The U.S. has never cracked the top ten, perhaps in part because Americans are spending less time outdoors. According to an Outdoor Foundation study released in January, nearly half the U.S. population doesn’t participate in outdoor recreation, with only 18 percent of people getting out for physical activity at least once a week. In addition, Americans took one billion fewer trips outside in 2018 than they did in 2008.

Beyond their appreciation for the outdoors, additional aspects of the top-ten societies likely contributed to their residents’ well-being. Most have universal health care systems, offer free college education, have substantial maternity and paternity leave, and are among some of the wealthiest countries in the world. By comparison, the unhappiest countries include Afghanistan, Yemen, and Palestine, which have continuously been racked with wars and conflict in recent history.

It can be challenging to think about what the future will look like, as social-distancing guidelines cause feelings of isolation and cabin fever, and exacerbate mental-health concerns. But if you’re looking for ways to increase your own well-being and set in motion a more outdoors-based lifestyle once this is all over, start now by following these rules for getting outside safely.

‘996’ Is China’s Version of Hustle Culture. Tech Workers Are Sick of It.
Chinese programmers once embraced working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. But online, discontent is brewing.

By Lin Qiqing and Raymond Zhong- April 29, 2019

China’s richest internet moguls think their employees should work more.

Jack Ma, the founder of the e-commerce titan Alibaba, called long work hours “a huge blessing.” Richard Liu, who runs the Alibaba rival JD.com, said people who frittered away their days “are no brothers of mine.”

Rank-and-file tech workers in China, discouraged by a weakened job market and downbeat about their odds of joining the digital aristocracy, have other ideas.

They are organizing online against what in China is called the “996” culture: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.

For years, Chinese tech employees have worked hours that make Silicon Valley’s workaholics seem pampered. Now they are naming and shaming employers that demand late nights. Some programmers are even withholding their creations from companies that they think overemphasize 996.

“Ten years ago, people rarely complained about 996,” said Li Shun, a former employee at the search giant Baidu who left to found an online medical start-up. “This industry was booming once, but it’s more of a normal industry now. There are no more giant financial returns. Expecting people to work a 996 schedule on their own like before isn’t realistic.”

Unusually for China — where independent labor unions are banned and the government comes down hard on populist movements it doesn’t control — the movement is gaining traction.

Mr. Ma softened his remarks. An industrywide conversation has begun. An open letter, sent on Monday to China’s Ministry of Human Resources and signed by 74 lawyers from around the country, urges the government to properly enforce labor laws.

Even Chinese state media has called on employers to ease back.

“Under the pressures of a slowing economy, many companies are faced with questions about their survival, and their anxiety is understandable,” a commentary in the People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, said. “But the solution is not to make employees work as much overtime as possible.”

Angst about 72-hour workweeks speaks to a deeper gloom in China’s digital industries.

Not so long ago, 996 symbolized possibility for Chinese tech entrepreneurs. Their country had the vast market. And increasingly, it had the engineering talent. The secret ingredient, the one that supposedly set China’s companies apart from Silicon Valley’s, was the hustle.

While China requires overtime pay, the laws are haphazardly enforced, and the tech industry usually insists workers are committing their time voluntarily.

But hustle is harder to demand of workers in a bear market. Internet darlings have laid off employees. A torrent of venture investment in tech has slowed to a trickle. As China’s internet industry matures, giant companies like Alibaba and Tencent are looking more like monopolists whose world-swallowing dominance leaves little room for upstarts.

In China, “there’s not a lot of hope for runners-up anymore,” said Max Zhou, a co-founder of a Beijing mobile software start-up called MetaApp. As a result, he said, smaller companies can no longer use a sense of grander purpose to motivate workers to sacrifice their personal lives.

“Most companies don’t have a dream anymore,” Mr. Zhou said. “They can only try to fabricate something for their employees.”

The 996 debate started last month with a simple post on GitHub, an online community where programmers around the world share code and software tools. An anonymous user posted under the screen name “996icu,” a reference to the place where such hours take engineers: the intensive care unit.

The 996.ICU GitHub repository — basically a folder for a project’s files — has since been “starred” more than 230,000 times, indicating people’s level of interest. Hundreds of fed-up tech workers have contributed to the GitHub project. Others have assembled on messaging and social media apps, with little centralized coordination.

The Chinese government is eternally fearful of spaces where mass discontent can simmer. It has long barred access to Facebook, Twitter and other global platforms. Years ago, China briefly blocked GitHub, too, but engineers protested and the site was unblocked. GitHub, which is owned by Microsoft, has a policy of posting any takedown requests it receives from governments.

Nagi Zhuge, an engineer at a start-up in the southern province of Hunan, has lived the 996 life for the last two years.

“My colleagues are too afraid to go home after work,” Mr. Zhuge said. “As a junior employee, I can’t be the first to leave.” He is now an active contributor to the GitHub project.

Across the different groups, the basic strategy is to push, but not so hard that the Chinese government feels compelled to react.

That means no strikes and no demonstrations. In one group on the messaging app Telegram, references to Marx and Lenin are forbidden. The philosophies of communism’s leading lights often run contrary to the way China is run today. The government cracked down against a labor rights movement in the tech hub of Shenzhen this year.

Instead of sit-ins, the tech workers are harnessing the power of memes, stickers and T-shirts. Some have pushed for a holiday to celebrate beleaguered software engineers. Mr. Zhuge is rallying workers to mail paper copies of China’s labor law to Mr. Ma of Alibaba.

“We’re expressing ourselves very gently, as programmers tend to do,” said Suji Yan, the founder of a start-up in Shanghai called Dimension.

Even so, many people, in China and elsewhere, remain concerned that the movement will be silenced. A few weeks ago, some Chinese web browsers appeared to have restricted access to the GitHub repository. In response, Microsoft employees started a petition asking the company to decline any requests from the Chinese authorities to censor or remove the 996.ICU repository.

“Most important for the 996.ICU movement is that GitHub is accessible in China,” the employees wrote in their petition. “We encourage Microsoft and GitHub to keep the 996.ICU GitHub repository uncensored and available to everyone.” The petition, which is also hosted on GitHub, has collected more than 150 public signatures and has been starred more than 4,000 times.

Concerns about censorship also arose when Twitter users in the United States were blocked from posting links to the 996.ICU repository. The link was incorrectly flagged by Twitter’s spam prevention system, a Twitter spokeswoman said, but users are now able to post it.

On GitHub, Chinese tech workers have drawn up a blacklist of the tech companies where the hours are longest. Among the offenders: Alibaba, JD.com, the smartphone maker Huawei and Bytedance, the social media giant behind the short-video platform TikTok.

The list of humane “955” exemplars includes Amazon, Google and Microsoft, as well as the Chinese social website Douban.

Written along the bottom of the 996.ICU group’s bright red home page: “Developers’ lives matter.”

Alibaba said it had no comment on 996 beyond Mr. Ma’s social media posts, and JD.com had no comment beyond Mr. Liu’s post. Huawei, whose executives speak proudly of their hard-charging “wolf culture,” declined to comment. Bytedance did not respond to a request for comment.

The GitHub repository includes information about job opportunities overseas. There is also a list of things people can do to support the movement.

The last item on the list: “Go home at 6 p.m. without feeling sorry.”

Opinion- NY Times

The Richest Man in China Is Wrong. 12-Hour Days Are No ‘Blessing.’

Working nonstop hurts employees as well as the managers who praise the culture of overwork.

By Bryce Covert- April 21, 2019

Jack Ma, the richest man in China and founder of the e-commerce company Alibaba, is a big fan of extreme overwork. He recently praised China’s “996” practice, so called because it refers to those who put in 12-hour days — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. — six days a week. This “is not a problem,” he said in a recent blog post, instead calling it a “blessing.”

The response from others in China was swift. “If all enterprises enforce a 996 schedule, no one will have children,” one person argued on the same platform. “Did you ever think about the elderly at home who need care, the children who need company?” It even prompted a response from Chinese state media, which reminded everyone, “The mandatory enforcement of 996 overtime culture not only reflects the arrogance of business managers, but also is unfair and impractical.”

Managers who think like Mr. Ma can be found the world over. Here at home, Elon Musk, a co-founder of Tesla, has argued that “nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week.” Uber reportedly used to use the internal mantra “Work smarter, harder and longer.” (It’s now just “smarter” and “harder.”) The company has also rebranded second jobs as clever “side hustles.” WeWork decorates its co-working spaces with phrases like, “Don’t stop when you’re tired, stop when you are done.” Other tech and business gurus try to sell us on “toil glamour.”

The truth is that they’re all wrong. Workers certainly suffer when forced to put in extreme hours. But business fares just as poorly. No one benefits from people pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion.

One of the reasons Mr. Ma says he supports 996 culture is people who work longer get the “rewards of hard work.” But they are apparently not in store for monetary rewards: A group of academics just released research finding that working longer hours than someone else in the same job doesn’t earn you more money; instead it leads to a 1 percent decrease in wages. Another analysis similarly found that after 40 hours a week, there isn’t a clear financial return to clocking more hours. Excessive work effort has even been linked, perversely, to worse career outcomes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also warned that putting in extra hours is associated with poorer health, including weight gain and higher alcohol and tobacco use, and increased injury, illness and even mortality. Health researchers have found that overwork is linked to a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

Mr. Ma went so far in his post as to say that those who aren’t willing to put in such long hours need not apply to work at Alibaba. He’s only shooting himself in the foot.

There’s a ceiling on how much more someone can get done by simply spending more time at work. After about 48 hours a week, a worker’s output drops sharply, according to a Stanford economist. Other research has appeared to support this finding. While there may be an initial burst of activity from overworking, people who work more than 55 hours a week perform worse than those who go home at a normal hour and get some rest.

There are other costs to employers. An elder-care facility in Sweden that tried a six-hour workday reportedly found that nurses took fewer sick days and were more productive. Fatigued workers cost employers $100 billion in lost productivity.

This all became obvious to the American business community long ago. As strong unions pushed for a 40-hour workweek in the 1800s, business leaders who acquiesced found that their companies became significantly more profitable and productive. In 1914, Henry Ford took the lessons of these natural experiments to heart and cut shifts in his plants to eight hours without reducing pay, leading to an output boom. By 1938, that 40-hour workweek was enshrined into law by the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires time-and-a-half pay beyond that threshold.

The strength of the law has been whittled away over recent decades, however, to the point that millions fewer Americans are guaranteed extra pay for extra work than in 1979. That allows employers to push more employees to put in more hours essentially free. President Barack Obama proposed an update in 2016 that would have offered new or strengthened overtime protection to over 13 million workers; it was struck down by the courts, and President Trump’s version, proposed in March, will help 8.2 million fewer workers, thanks to a lower salary threshold and a failure to index it to inflation.

Business leaders seem to have forgotten the lessons they learned in the past: Humane schedules benefit employee and employer alike. China may have its 996 culture, but the United States doesn’t fare much better. Nearly a third of us put in 45 hours or more each week, while nearly 10 million clock 60 or more. The average European puts in between 7 percent and 19 percent less time on the job.

Policies like a strong overtime rule can help us return to a world where everyone does better by working less. Business leaders like Jack Ma have to get with the program, too. Glorifying those who sacrifice nearly all of their waking hours at the altar of work harms everyone, from the chief executive to the custodian.

Happiness, Materialism, and Money:
The Hedonic Treadmill – Are We Forever Chasing Rainbows?
PositivePsychology.com

Can you remember the last time you were dreaming of buying a new car, getting a promotion at work, moving into a nicer house or finding a partner to share life with? Do you remember fantasizing about how happy you would be if you attained those things?

If you finally did attain one of those things, you may have found that the “happiness boost” didn’t last that long or wasn’t as intense as you’d imagined. Most of us have gone through this cycle.

The hedonic treadmill (also known as hedonic adaptation) is a theory positing that people repeatedly return to their baseline level of happiness, regardless of what happens to them.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau beautifully explained hedonic adaptation in his 1754 Discourse on Inequality with the following words:

“Since these conveniences by becoming habitual had almost entirely ceased to be enjoyable, and at the same time degenerated into true needs, it became much more cruel to be deprived of them than to possess them was sweet, and men were unhappy to lose them without being happy to possess them.”

How do we pursue happiness without grinding our bones into unsatisfied dust? There are many ways.

This article contains:

· A Little History

· Happiness Set Point

· Research

· Can We Escape the Treadmill?

· Conclusion

A Little History

Two psychologists, Brickman and Campbell, first wrote about this concept in 1971 with their essay, “Hedonic Relativism and Planning the Good Society.” In the 1970s, the concept was known as hedonic adaptation. It was 20 years when Michael Eysenck compared hedonic adaptation to a treadmill, a more modern and understandable example.

Thus, the hedonic treadmill was born.

Happiness Set Point

Studies have shown that our circumstances don’t account for most of our happiness. Each person has a happiness set point, which refers to one’s genetically determined predisposition for happiness. This set point for happiness is responsible for about 50% of the differences in happiness from person to person.

In her book The How of Happiness, researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky says that:

1. If you struggle with a low set point, meaning, you tend to gravitate towards sadness or depression, don’t be so hard on yourself. You are, to an extent, dealing with a stacked deck;

2. Fifty percent, as high as it is, is not 100%, so there’s plenty of leeway for improvement. Your actions, thoughts, and attitudes account for about 40% of your happiness, which is quite significant. (The final 10% is determined by external circumstances.)

The theory of the hedonic treadmill states that regardless of what happens to people, their levels of happiness will eventually return to their baselines. Take this theory with a classic example: say you get married, move into a new house, get a promotion, lose a job, suffer an accident, etc., over time, you’re likely to return to your set point of happiness.

There is an initial spike in happiness or sadness, but as time goes on, the feeling of happiness or sadness caused by an event starts to dissipate, and habituation kicks in.

After some time passes, you’ll be back at the level of happiness at which you were before.

A possible misattribution of this theory could be the relationship between good things happening in a period of time and positive emotions experienced during that same period.

If someone is fortunate enough to experience an abundance of positive events spaced out over a relatively short period of time, the constant influx of happiness may lead a person to believe that his or her general happiness has increased. But that’s not what the research suggests.

Research
Along with Brickman and Campbell’s original research (1971), a notable piece of research on the hedonic treadmill studied two sets of people: One was a group of people who won large lottery prizes, and the other was a group of accident victims who were now paralyzed (including quadriplegic and paraplegic people).

The research revealed that, in the long term, neither group appeared to be happier than the other. (Brickman, Coates, & Janoff-Bulman, 1978). Of course, the lottery winners and paralysis victims experienced initial reactions of happiness and sadness, respectively.

The effects didn’t turn out to be long-lasting, and people in both groups shortly reverted to their previous levels of happiness. In the original theory of the hedonic treadmill, Brickman and Campbell proposed that people immediately react to good and bad events but in a short time return to neutrality (1971).

However, if the theory put forth by Brickman and Campbell is correct, any effort to increase happiness is pointless — meaning that if our happiness set point is on the low end of the spectrum, we’re doomed to unhappiness.

The good news is that further research, led by Ed Diener, has refined the initial findings and brought greater understanding into the subtleties of the hedonic cycle.

Here are five points, supported by more recent research, to take into consideration:

1) The Set Point Is Not Neutral
After reviewing the data from earlier studies on the hedonic treadmill, Diener, Lucas, and Scollon (2006) found that approximately three-quarters of the samples studied reported affect balance scores (positive and negative moods and emotions) above neutral.

Even in diverse populations, including the Amish and the African Maasai, the well-being levels were above neutral. So even if people adapt and return to a previous point, it’s a positive rather than a neutral one.

2) The Set Point Is Individualized
Recent research shows that even if everyone has a set point, it varies significantly from person to person. Personality traits play a role in someone’s happiness set point, and well-being is moderately heritable. So, different personality traits may predispose individuals to different levels of well-being.

3) We Have Multiple Set Points
The notion of a set point suggests that each person has a single, static baseline of happiness. But more recent work by Diener, Suh, Lucas, and Smith (1999) complicates this theory by arguing that happiness is composed of different factors that contribute to well-being, and these factors sometimes move in different directions.

For example, one could have both positive and negative emotions in decline but life satisfaction on the rise. The basic idea is that different forms of well-being can move in different directions at the same time.

4) Happiness Can Change
One of the conclusions often drawn from the first study is that no matter what we do, we can’t effect lasting change on our levels of well-being and life satisfaction. Examining well-being levels of nations might help clarify this, as research on this specific topic is scarce.

If there are marked differences in well-being across nations and these differences can be predicted from objective characteristics of those nations, that could mean that circumstances can have a long-term impact on well-being.

For example, one study cited that a nation’s “higher-than-average wealth” and “support for human rights” were strong predictors of the well-being of its residents. Researchers at The Economist also reported that 85% of the variance in well-being between nations can be explained by nine factors that included: gross domestic product per person, life expectancy at birth, political stability, and divorce rates.

So the question is, “Can our long-term average level of happiness change?”

To answer this question, Fujita and Diener designed a longitudinal study that examined changes in the baseline level of well-being over a period of 17 years in a large sample of Germans (2005).

The researchers found that even though there was significant stability in the happiness assessments, 24% of participants still experienced a significant change to their happiness level, and 9% of participants changed by two standard deviations or more. It seems that long-lasting change is possible.

“The very good news is there is quite a number of internal circumstances . . . under your voluntary control. If you decide to change them (none of these changes come without real effort), your level of happiness is likely to increase lastingly.” – Martin Seligman

5) Individual Differences in Adaptation
Another assumption stemming from the original hedonic treadmill theory is that adaptation happens the same way for everyone. But research shows that there are individual differences in the rate and extent of adaptation.

For example, studies into the adaptation to marriage predicted that the happiest people would react more strongly to positive events. But the results showed otherwise: less-satisfied individuals were more likely to benefit from marriage in the long term.

One of the explanations for this is that atypical events or a big shift in our lives may produce the greatest change in happiness.

Can We Escape the Treadmill?

A study by Barbara Fredrickson and colleagues Cohn, Coffey, Pek, and Finkel showed that the stream of positive emotions induced through loving-kindness meditation can outpace the effects of the hedonic treadmill (2008).

Most research on meditation focuses on mindfulness meditation. However, because of the specific interest in eliciting positive emotions, Fredrickson et al. focused on loving-kindness meditation, a form of meditation that evokes feelings of warmth and care for oneself and others.

Researchers suggest that this kind of mind-training practice not only changes passing emotional states but also reshapes enduring personality traits by helping us learn about the nature of our own minds. Practicing loving-kindness meditation also helps dismantle false assumptions about what leads to happiness and well-being.

Over time, meditation may be the gateway to creating insights that change our outlooks on ourselves and others, thereby increasing empathy and compassion.

Differences in Happiness

Despite the hedonic treadmill, some people have an inherently optimistic nature. They seem much happier than others, no matter what is happening in their lives.

An individual’s definition of an event (threat or challenge), his or her interpretations, and the ways in which he or she continues to think about the event (e.g., with a sense of tragedy, a sense of humor, ruminating about the past) can have a big impact on his or her outlook.

In Sonja Lyubomirsky’s research on this subject, she found that happy individuals perceive, interpret, and subsequently think about life events and life circumstances in more positive ways than negative ones (1998). These differences in cognitive processes may, in turn, reinforce and promote people’s affective dispositions. Happy individuals can evaluate events (especially negative ones) in positive and productive ways. Unhappy individuals tend to dwell on the negative aspects of events, find things that are “wrong” about positive events, or ruminate on how things were better before.

How to Become Happier

If people become accustomed to (or take for granted) anything positive that happens to them, then how can they ever become happier? As stated before, about 40% of our happiness is dependent on our actions, thoughts, and attitudes. That means that we have the ability to improve.

Tal Ben-Shahar is an American and Israeli writer in the field of positive psychology and leadership. He suggests the following tips for amplifying our level of happiness (2006):

1. Give yourself permission to be human: Accept your emotions, including fear, sadness, and anxiety. Rejecting them leads to frustration

2. Simplify your life. Focus on one thing at a time and reduce multitasking.

3. Find meaning and pleasure. Engage in goals you want to achieve instead of what you feel obligated to do. Spend two hours per week on hobbies. Spend time with our loved ones.

4. Focus on the positive and be grateful. Each day, write down five things for which you’re grateful.

5. Increase the effort you put into your relationships. Go on a date with your significant other or spend more time talking to your children.

6. Be mindful of the mind-body connection through exercise and the practice of mindfulness meditation, yoga, and breathing techniques. Research has shown that exercising leads to decreased levels of depression (Lyubomirsky & Tucker, 1998).

There are other tools we can use to shift our thoughts. By being mindful of what we think while reacting to situations, we can begin to focus on what we need to change in order to view the entire situation differently.

Byron Katie, author of the “The Work,” sums this up perfectly, explaining why our thoughts can cause both happiness and suffering. To increase happiness, we can reflect on what we really want to do, choose the people and activities we really enjoy, learn by revisiting our negative thoughts, and focus on the present moment.

Conclusion

The hedonic treadmill theory states that our circumstances, including extremes like winning the lottery or becoming a paraplegic, alter our happiness level temporarily, and we quickly adjust back to a fixed emotional set point. Is this an important concept to grasp when it comes to understanding happiness? Absolutely.

Recent research challenges the assumption that adaptation is inevitable and shows that adaptation processes may vary depending on the events and individuals in question. Reviewing this research reveals that changes in our baseline levels of happiness are possible, that our baselines are often positive rather than neutral, and that we have multiple set points that might move in opposite directions.

These newer studies provide proof that interventions to increase happiness can be effective, and that changes can be targeted not only at an individual level but also on an organizational and social level.

To be young, rich and Chinese in America: Amid all that flashy spending, a sense of loss
By FRANK SHYONG

URL: https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-headlines-chinese-fuerdai-20160707-snap-story.html

Edited by Amy Joy Lashmet

AUG. 13, 2016

Rudy Rong took a seat at a table in the Commerce Casino’s poker hall, his legs jigging with nervous energy. The 22-year-old son of Chinese video game billionaires hadn’t come here to gamble. Rong was launching a virtual reality startup, and he had arrived hours earlier to videotape a musical performance in the casino’s ballroom for an investor demo.

But as Ping An, a pop star and former contestant in the singing show Voice of China, took the mic, Rong grew anxious, left the camera running onstage and retreated downstairs to the poker tables.

As he tossed a $100 bill on the green felt, his phone’s glow illuminated bags under his eyes. His startup’s app would be launching in a month, and he had been pushing himself hard, packing his schedule with coding sessions, media appearances and investor meetings.

As one of China’s fuerdai — the scions of the country’s new wealthy class famous throughout the world for flashy spending and driving fast cars — Rong wants to prove he can do more than inherit money.

A stack of chips appeared in front of him. The game is No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, and when it came time for Rong to make his last bet before the dealer showed the final card, he took another look at his cards. The odds of Rong getting another spade, completing a flush and winning the hand, were low. But so are the odds of a 22-year-old USC student launching a successful startup. To win at anything, Rong believes, you must gamble. He pushed “all in.”

The dealer flipped a queen of clubs. Another 100 dollars gone. Rong frowned and reached for his wallet.

In recent years, Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris have become common sights outside certain hotpot restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. Behind the wheels of these cars are fuerdai like Rudy, a generation born in the aftermath of China’s economic miracle, with every imaginable resource at their disposal. For many in China, the fuerdai symbolize the values lost in the modernizing country’s mad dash for economic growth — diligence, humility and restraint.

Their exploits make headlines across the world and read like a cautionary tale of new wealth — “The Great Gatsby,” but with China-sized fortunes: The son of one of China’s richest men buys two Apple Watches, fastens them around his dog’s forepaws, and posts it on social media to wild public outcry. A local official’s son tries to use his father’s name as a get-out-of-jail-free card after killing two students in a car crash. And in Los Angeles, where many rich Chinese families send their kids to school, an 18-year-old UC Irvine student from China was arrested in Malibu after leading police on a 122 mph chase across the city in a BMW 750i, unaware that he was being pursued.

The fuerdais’ antics have inspired such national anxiety that last year the Chinese government ordered 70 of these second generation nouveau riche to attend an education camp on Chinese values. There’s widespread concern in China that wealth is warping the social compass, said Xiaofei Li, a political science professor at York College of Pennsylvania. In the new China, morality is often measured by how much money someone makes, not how they make it.

Rong, a second-year student at USC , rents an office in a downtown skyscraper, spends weekends in his family’s 5,900-square-foot house in Newport Beach and, depending on his mood, drives a Bentley Continental GT, a Rolls Royce Phantom, a Porsche Turbo Cayenne, a Cadillac, a Mercedes or a Range Rover — a fleet he keeps parked around town, some in spaces that go for up to $2,400 a year at the downtown Los Angeles high-rise where he has his apartment.

He freely identifies as fuerdai, but with one caveat.

“It just defines you as someone’s son. We want to be known for ourselves,” Rong said.

Five thousand dollars in cash fluttered over the dance floor at Lure, a Hollywood nightclub, like overpriced confetti. Rong raised his phone and hit record. His video of that night in 2014 shows dancers ignoring the thumping bass beat, crawling after bills and leaping to snatch money from the air. When police responded to reports of underage drinking, Rong and his friends rented two buses and moved the festivities down the street to Cosmo, where, he says, actors James Franco and Seth Rogen made an appearance.

The party’s chaotic extravagance was the product of Prime Union, a leisure club for young, wealthy, Chinese nationals in the U.S. that Rong and his friends created as college freshmen.

In exchange for a membership fee that eventually swelled to $20,000 a year, Prime Union organized private jets to Las Vegas, threw parties and rented out mansions in the Hollywood Hills to show off their flashy cars and throw more parties.

Rong says he started the club because he wanted to “change the image of Chinese people” in America — an image, he believed, that consisted of little more than infrequent, unflattering roles in film and television.

Prime Union members, Rong said, didn’t need to wait for acceptance and respect — they could buy it, and they could buy the clubs that wouldn’t admit them, and throw parties where Chinese guys get all the girls. Their slogan reflected an almost nationalist ethos: “You were born differently. It’s in your blood.”

But that part of his life, Rong insists, is in the past. He quit the club a year ago. It wasn’t making very much money, and after police shut down the October event, the club lost its credibility with members. The parties had also left Rong jaded. He began to see that many of his friends — the sons and daughters of politicians and industry titans — were unhappy.

“I’ve seen so many second-generation rich who are craving to fill emptiness inside of them and their hearts,” Rong says. “Every day is about the next party and the next girl. I don’t want that to happen to me.”

Last November, he withdrew $100,000 from an account his parents help fund and launched Magic Cube. He resolved to change his image.

On his Wechat feed, a photo stream of movie premieres, first-class-seat selfies and yacht hangouts has given way to photos of his employees coding late into the night and snaps of his economy class accommodations, a laptop jammed between his knees and the seat. A few weeks ago, working late at his office, he went online to post a late-night view of the dimming lights of downtown L.A. and captioned it with an F. Scott Fitzgerald quote:

“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone… just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had.”

Soon after coming to the U.S. as a high school student, Rong says he lost faith in the American Dream and began to subscribe to the notion of the Chinese Dream.

If the American Dream is the promise of prosperity in exchange for hard work, the Chinese Dream, in Rong’s view, is the chance of immortality – the belief that anyone can become the richest man in the world, so long as he places the right bets.

Rong’s bet is Magic Cube. His idea is to merge aspects of virtual reality, reality TV, live streaming video, online gaming, the social-influencer economy and big data for a product that Rong hopes is tailor-made for the Chinese economy: ever-changing, astronomically ambitious, and with a payoff of billions. Rong has spent the last few weeks making a demo for investors and trying to model the frugality that is required of a startup founder.

The money once spent on fancy restaurants and flashy clothes he now invests in the company. The last time he went to a club was to gather footage for an investor demo. He’s thinking about selling his Bentley.

Rong still sees his Prime Union friends from time to time. They always ask him if he wants to “get back on top” — rent out the Queen Mary for a party or buy a castle in the Hollywood Hills.

Rong shrugs them off.

“I don’t believe that you can have fun and make billions,” he says. “To make a business, you work super hard. You give up your cars, you give up the girls, and you dig into it. Otherwise it’ll never get off the ground.”

In the final days before his startup’s scheduled launch, Rong’s flies back to China for his grandfather’s funeral and is forced to push back his startup’s launch date.

But to his family’s dismay, he immediately catches a flight back to Los Angeles, skipping some of the traditional mourning rituals so he can take a meeting with a Lionsgate producer. He can’t miss the opportunity.

He’s close with his mother, and he spends much of the flight thinking about how he disappointed her. Before he left, she told him that he was disrespecting his family and his elders — one of the common criticisms of China’s elite youth.

But he reminded himself that his mother, a video-game entrepreneur herself, had always taught him that he needed to make something of himself and create his own fortune. And making money, Rong decided, required sacrifice. He could only hope his mother would understand some day.

More than job satisfaction
Psychologists are discovering what makes work meaningful — and how to create Psychologists are discovering what makes work meaningful — and how to create value in any job.value in any job.

By Kirsten Weir. December 2013, Vol 44, No. 11

What do you do? That's often one of the first questions people ask when they meet someone new — not surprising given that most adults spend most of their waking hours at work and that our jobs can influence our lives even outside the workplace. Our work can be a big part of our identity and offer insights into what is important to us, making it a rich area of psychological study.

Several recent studies have concentrated on a particular aspect of work: finding meaning in it. Through their research, experts have gleaned new insights, showing that meaningful work is good for the worker and for the company — and that even employees in tiresome jobs can find ways to make their duties more meaningful.

"Work can make people miserable. Losing work can make people pretty unhappy, too," says Michael F. Steger, PhD, an associate professor of counseling psychology and applied social psychology at Colorado State University. "So are there ways to use work to improve lives?"

Building cathedrals
In a 2010 review, Brent D. Rosso, PhD, and colleagues noted that finding meaning in one's work has been shown to increase motivation, engagement, empowerment, career development, job satisfaction, individual performance and personal fulfillment, and to decrease absenteeism and stress ( Research in Organizational Behavior , 2010).

Unfortunately, meaningful work may not be the norm. According to State of the American Workplace, a new report by Gallup Inc., only 30 percent of the U.S. workforce is engaged in their work — in other words, they're passionate about their work and feel strongly committed to their companies. The remaining 70 percent of American workers are either "not engaged" or "actively disengaged" in their work ( Gallup , 2013). Gallup defines unengaged workers as those who are "checked out," putting in time but without much energy or passion. Actively disengaged workers, meanwhile, act out on their unhappiness, taking up more of their managers' time and undermining what their co-workers accomplish.

That disengagement takes a toll. Actively disengaged workers, the report states, are more likely to steal from their organizations, negatively influence co-workers, miss workdays and drive customers away. According to Gallup, active disengagement costs U.S. companies $450 billion to $550 billion per year.

Of course, there are different ways to find meaning in one's work, says Michael G. Pratt, PhD, a professor of management and organization at Boston College. To illustrate this, he points to the old tale of three bricklayers hard at work. When asked what they're doing, the first bricklayer responds, "I'm putting one brick on top of another." The second replies, "I'm making six pence an hour." And the third says, "I'm building a cathedral — a house of God."

"All of them have created meaning out of what they've done, but the last person could say what he's done is meaningful," Pratt says. "Meaningfulness is about the why, not just about what."

Something that's meaningful for one person may be inconsequential for another, however. What makes work worthwhile to you probably depends on your culture, your socioeconomic status and how you were taught to see the world, according to Pratt. An academic might find value in scholarship, for instance. "But a firefighter might look at an academic and ask, ‘Are you helping people on a daily basis? If not, it's not worthwhile work at all.'"

People assign significance to their work in a variety of ways, as Pratt and doctoral students Douglas Lepisto and Camille Pradies describe in a chapter in the 2013 book " Purpose and Meaning in the Workplace ." Some may derive meaning not from the job itself, but from the fact that it allows them to provide for their families and pursue non-work activities that they enjoy. Others may find meaning in being able to advance themselves and be the best they can be. People with a craftsmanship orientation take pride in performing the job well. Those with a service orientation find purpose in the ideology or belief system behind their work. Still others extract meaning from the sense of kinship they experience with co-workers.

Craftsmanship, service and kinship orientations are especially likely to be meaningful, as they all point to something beyond the individual, says Pratt.

Steger, too, has zeroed in on the idea that meaningful work is bigger than one's self. He and his colleagues recently created a tool for measuring meaningful work (Journal of Career Assessment, 2012). This "Work and Meaning Inventory" assesses three components, he says: The feeling that the work has some purpose, evidence that the meaning derived from work feeds into the meaning one feels in life as a whole, and the idea that the work somehow benefits a greater good.

As one might imagine, meaningful work and job satisfaction are linked, says Steger. In his 2012 paper, he found that having meaningful work predicts job satisfaction. But meaningful work was actually better than job satisfaction at predicting absenteeism – people who found their work more meaningful were less likely to miss work than people who merely reported being satisfied with their jobs. Meaningful work was also correlated with life satisfaction and less depression.

A higher calling
Researchers have found that workers who feel a higher calling to their jobs are among the most content. Take zookeepers, for example. Though more than eight in 10 zookeepers have college degrees, their average annual income is less than $25,000. The typical job description involves scrubbing enclosures, scooping waste and spending time in the elements. There's little room for advancement and zookeepers tend not to be held in high regard, says Stuart Bunderson, PhD, a professor of organizational behavior at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis (Administrative Science Quarterly, 2009).

Nonetheless, zookeepers are a passionate bunch. Many volunteer for months or even years until a paid position opens up, Bunderson says. He and Jeffery Thompson, PhD, at Brigham Young University, began studying zookeepers while investigating ideological motivations for work. Initially, they suspected the zoo's conservation mission probably motivated the keepers. While that was partly true, they found, it turned out their inspiration went deeper.

"There was this idea that they were born to do this work," Bunderson says. "Working as a zookeeper felt like a personal destiny to many of them. They even shared stories about how events led them to the zoo, as if by fate."

What Bunderson and Thompson zeroed in on among the zookeepers was a sense of calling. "You can say work is meaningful because you enjoy it or it serves some purpose," Bunderson says, "but a calling makes that work personal."

People who feel called to their careers are likely to find their work deeply meaningful, he says. Their personal connection with the job makes even the most trivial tasks feel significant. Often the experience of a calling comes with social benefits as well. People who felt called to be zookeepers tended to feel that their co-workers experienced the same motivation and sense of duty. "It's not just that you do the same work, but you're the same kind of people," Bunderson explains. "It gives you a connection to a community."

Having a sense of calling can affect not only what you do but where you do it. Pratt and colleagues found that among physicians, those who said medicine was their calling felt more attached to the hospital or health-care facility in which they worked ( Journal of Vocational Behavior , 2011). He suspects that's because, for physicians, hospitals are instrumental in helping them reach their goals. "It's hard to be a freelance physician," he says.

Yet having a calling is "a double-edged sword," Bunderson says. If you feel you were born to do something, it's awfully hard to walk away from it. "You put up with sacrifices and difficulties. You're more vulnerable to exploitation, since managers who know you're deeply committed know they can treat you in ways that are less than respectful," he says. "Deep meaning doesn't come cheap."

Calling may be more prevalent in some fields than in others. In not-yet published work, Bunderson studied business school graduates dating back 30 years. He found those in nonprofit and health-care settings were more likely to experience a sense of calling than management professionals in other sectors. In similar unpublished work, he found that public administrators and government employees are more likely to feel called to their work than are their counterparts in the private sector.

Does that mean certain jobs are inherently more meaningful than others? Not necessarily, Steger says, though work that benefits others does seem most likely to be considered meaningful. People also seem to find more value in their work when they're using — and being appreciated for — their unique talents, he says. "Being able to use your strengths to really shine and make an impact seems to be a huge part" of meaningful work, he says.

Interestingly, one element that may not be terribly important to meaningfulness is salary. The 2013 Gallup report found that employees with college degrees are less likely than those with less education to report being engaged in their work — even though a college degree leads to higher lifetime earnings, on average.

That makes sense to Pratt. "My grandfather was a glazier, and he found his work quite meaningful. When I asked my grandfather, ‘What did you do today?' he could tell me exactly what he built," he says. In his own university job, Pratt says he might spend a workday writing a few pages and sitting in meetings. At the end of the day, there's nothing concrete to show for his efforts.

"If we're not doing anything tangible, if we don't know what the standards are for good work versus bad work, then it's difficult for people to try to figure out why their work is meaningful," he says.

Make your own meaning
Fortunately, you don't have to become a glazier or a zookeeper to find meaning at work, says Jane E. Dutton, PhD, a professor of business administration and psychology at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Rather, you can redefine your job in personally meaningful ways, through a process she and her colleagues describe as "job crafting" ( Purpose and Meaning in the Workplace , 2013).

"Meaning doesn't take money," she says. "At any rank, people can make different meanings of their work, and also of themselves at work."

Employees can shape their work experiences in three broad ways, Dutton says. The first is by altering the tasks they perform. Every job has elements that make it feel like, well, work. But most employees do have some leeway to tweak their duties. "You can be an architect of the tasks," Dutton says.

Employees might choose to spend more energy on existing tasks they find particularly gratifying, for example. A professor might find she's most fulfilled when interacting with students. She may decide to limit the time she contributes to university committees so that she has more time to work with students. In some cases, adding fulfilling tasks can benefit you even if it increases your overall workload.

Second, Dutton says, employees can change relationships in the workplace. "We never make meaning in a vacuum. Work is very social," she says. Spending time with toxic co-workers can drain meaning from the most gratifying jobs. But just a few moments spent collaborating with a valued colleague can be reinvigorating. "Even if you talk to someone for five minutes, if it's someone you have a high-quality connection with, it's like taking a vitamin," she says.

Finally, a person can use cognitive restructuring to reframe the way he or she thinks about work. Steger mentions an accountant who worked at a community college. She found her work very meaningful not because she kept the accounts balanced, but because she felt her work allowed others to advance themselves through education. "For all these things in our jobs that we just don't like, we can take a step back and link it to the things that really matter," he says.

The zookeepers also illustrate the power of framing your job to see the big picture. They are able to find meaning in cleaning cages because they believe such tasks are vital to the bigger mission — not only caring for individual animals, but in fact helping to preserve entire species. "The more you look for the benefits of what you're doing, the more it feeds you psychologically," Dutton says.

Job crafting can pay off for employees and employers. As Steger has shown, finding one's work meaningful is associated with life satisfaction and overall well-being. Organizations, too, benefit from workers who are invested in their jobs. The Gallup report found that engaged workers are most likely to build new products and services, attract new customers and drive innovation.

However, Dutton notes, there is a potential drawback to emphasizing how employees can create their own meaning at work. "People could argue that this contributes to how organizations can extract labor from people," she says. In other words: "I'll give you a crappy job and it's up to you to make something good out of it," she adds.

Despite that risk, however, Dutton and her colleagues see plenty of value in helping people find ways to make the most of what they have. After all, workers may not have the power to change their organizations, but they can change the way they frame their own duties.

Dutton is particularly interested in helping people in low-status jobs. Surprisingly, she's found that such workers may actually be in a better position to craft their jobs than are people at higher ranks ( Journal of Organizational Behavior , 2010).

She found people with less power and autonomy in their organizations actually saw more opportunities to influence and build trust with other people. For instance, one customer-service representative who Dutton interviewed asserted herself with her supervisor and asked to join a website committee — a role that added tasks to her formal job description but allowed her to do something she was passionate about. By contrast, high-status employees were reluctant to impose on others, and were therefore less likely to involve other people in crafting their jobs.

Having witnessed too many workers constrained by Michigan's depressed economy, Dutton says she's seen firsthand how small changes can make a big difference for individuals, especially those at lower ranks.

"These are people who were happy to have a job, but the work stunk. I could see the power of helping them have hope," she says. "It shouldn't change the push for organizations to be fairer and better. But at the same time, I want more self-empowerment for workers to craft their work in ways that will make it less depleting and more enriching."

The relationship between happiness and career success isn't as clear as you might think
Written by Sonja Lyubomirsky, Professor of Psychology, Julia K. Boehm, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Lisa C. Walsh, Ph.D. student

Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/08/is-happiness-a-consequence-or-cause-of-career-success

Across the lifespan, society often pushes a subtle message with a basic formula: Work hard, become successful, then you’ll be happy. We hear it from our parents, teachers, employers, and even television ads. After a while, this way of thinking can become automatic. “When I graduate from college … When I land my dream job … When I make six figures,” we think to ourselves, “then I will be happy.” Although this formula is intuitive, unfortunately, it is likely broken and backwards.

Ten years ago, we proposed an alternative hypothesis based on evidence from numerous scientific studies: Happiness may not only be a consequence of success, but also a cause. Essentially, we argued that the presence of frequent positive emotions (such as joy, happiness, and contentment) may precede and even promote career success. This past year, we returned to the literature to determine whether more recent findings continued to support our hypothesis. What did we discover? It turns out that the wealth of evidence indicates that happiness is indeed a critical precursor to success. See below for a brief summary of some of the strongest evidence to date from each of three types of investigations we tracked down: cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental.

Cross-sectional evidence

Cross-sectional studies examine people at a specific point in time. For example, we might ask a group of sales reps how happy they are and also ask them (or their companies) about how many sales targets they have recently met. An important consideration is that although cross-sectional studies can establish whether there is a link between happiness and career (e.g., sales) success, they cannot determine whether it’s happiness that causes success or the other way around.

Are happy people more likely to perform well and succeed in the workplace? It appears so. Relative to their less happy peers, people who experience frequent positive emotions are more satisfied with their jobs, receive more favourable evaluations from supervisors, and perform better on work-related tasks. One key study found that sales agents with a more positive outlook sold 37 per cent more life insurance policies than their less positive co-workers.

Happy people are also more likely to go above and beyond for their organisations and receive greater social support from their colleagues than unhappy people. Happy workers are also less likely to burn out, be absent from work, or quit their jobs. In addition, happy people tend to earn slightly higher incomes than less happy people. In sum, the cross-sectional literature suggests that happy people enjoy better workplace success than their less happy peers.

Longitudinal evidence

Longitudinal research goes further by allowing us to answer the question: “Which came first—happiness or success?” In longitudinal studies, researchers follow people for multiple time points over the course of weeks, months, or years. If the evidence suggests that people were happy before they become successful, that provides further support for our hypothesis. In reviewing the longitudinal literature, we found that this indeed seems to be the case.

The happier people are, the more likely they are to later find employment and be satisfied with it. One study found that graduating college students who were happier than their peers were more likely to receive follow-up job interviews three months later. Another study found that happy 18-year-olds were more likely to be working in prestigious careers, satisfied with their work, and feel more financially secure eight years later. Other longitudinal research suggests that happy people are less likely to lose their jobs and more likely to find a new job if they do become unemployed.

Moreover, employees who initially report high levels of well-being report higher productivity two months later, greater social support 20 months later, and better supervisor evaluations five years later. It also appears that earlier happiness pays subsequent financial dividends. People who are happy at one time point often report higher income at a later time point. Overall, the longitudinal literature suggests that happiness heralds success, rather than the other way around.

Experimental evidence

In cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, it is possible that a third, unmeasured variable could be driving increases in both happiness and success. For example, perhaps happy people are more extraverted or more intelligent and it’s their extraversion or intelligence that’s key to their success, not happiness. Well-designed experiments help control for such third variables and better establish that happiness causes success. Thus, we searched for experiments that randomly assigned people to experience negative, neutral, or positive emotional states, then measured their subsequent performance on career-related outcomes (such as creativity).

Relative to those experiencing neutral or negative emotional states, people prompted to experience positive emotions set higher goals for themselves, persevere at challenging tasks longer, view themselves and others more favourably, and are more optimistic they will succeed. People induced to feel happy also demonstrate greater creativity and productivity than those induced to feel less happy. In a series of studies, participants put into a good mood were also more likely than those in a neutral mood to make concessions and find mutually beneficial solutions when negotiating with others.

Notably, there is some mixed evidence when it comes to complex mental tasks. Some research concludes that happiness can hinder logical reasoning, while other research suggests happiness may help individuals disregard irrelevant information and make decisions more efficiently. However, on the whole, the experiments we reviewed suggest that happiness facilitates success in a variety of career-related tasks and behaviours.

Considering the combined evidence

Similar to cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, experimental studies come with their own set of limitations. Many experiments take place in artificial laboratory environments over short periods of time. This is why it’s so important to consider the combined cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental evidence. Taken together, the hundreds of studies we reviewed across the three types of investigations provide strong support for our hypothesis that happiness precedes and often leads to career success.

This conclusion holds important implications for individuals and organisations. First, we should note that happiness is obviously not the only quality that determines success. Persistence and diligence are other likely successful attributes, among many others. Also, our review does not intend to imply that unhappy people cannot be successful. History suggests otherwise. For example, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill were reportedly depressed but led noteworthy careers.

After reading our review, some business leaders may be tempted to begin hiring visibly cheerful people and pressuring employees to act happy. We do not recommend it. Hiring only happy people could be considered discriminatory, and employees of Trader Joe’s and T-Mobile have already filed complaints with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board after both companies mandated overtly positive work environments. Furthermore, requiring happiness at work can backfire, ironically making employees unhappier.

Organisations are likely better off creating environments that authentically increase workers’ happiness. One way to do this might involve giving employees the option to engage in positive activities designed to enhance well-being, such as performing acts of kindness for co-workers or expressing gratitude to customers. Implementing positive activities in the workplace involves relatively few costs (if any), and could potentially boost revenue and improve company culture. The How of Happiness is a good resource for learning more about how to do that.

Finally, we want to emphasise that both positive and negative emotions are adaptive in different situations, and it is healthy to experience a balance of both. However, our review suggests that positive emotions are particularly well-positioned to provide an advantage in the workplace and should not be overlooked.