- 7th World Happiness Report released on the United
Nations International Day of Happiness 20th March
2019
- Research on voting habits shows happy people are more
likely to vote to keep governments in power
- Finland retains 1st place in happiness rankings; UK
rises 4 places to 15th
- Unhappy people were more likely to vote for Brexit and
Trump
- Action for Happiness helps increase happiness in local
communities
- Social media is making young people
unhappy
The World Happiness Report, released to mark the International Day of Happiness on 20th March,
has found that happy people are more likely to vote to keep an
incumbent government in power, while social media is making young
people unhappier.
The report's international ranking places Finland in
the number one spot for the second year running, while the UK has
risen 4 places, from 19th to 15th.
Research summarised in the report shows that happier
people are not only more likely to engage in politics and vote, but
are also more likely to vote for incumbent parties. Increases in
national happiness were shown to be a better predictor that a
government will be re-elected than conventional economic indicators
such as GDP growth, unemployment and inflation.
Comparing changes in wellbeing with changes in
macroeconomic indicators, a one standard deviation increase in
national life satisfaction is associated with around 6% gain for
incumbent parties (and nearly an 8% increase in cabinet vote
share), whereas an equivalent increase in economic growth is
associated with only around 3% gain for incumbent parties.
In the last US Presidential election and the EU
referendum, unhappy people were more likely to vote for change
rather than for the status quo. People who were dissatisfied with
life overall were around 2.5 percentage points more likely to
answer Yes to the question of whether the UK should leave the
European Union. In the US, 3.4% of people had very low wellbeing in
areas where the swing to Trump was less than 10%; but this more
than doubled to over 7.1% reporting very low wellbeing in areas
where the swing to Trump was more than 10%. The data suggests there
is a significant incentive for incumbent governments seeking
re-election to look beyond GDP and prioritise policies that
increase the happiness of the electorate.
Professor Richard Layard from the London School of
Economics, one of the authors of the World Happiness Report,
co-founded charity Action for Happiness to help promote national
wellbeing and encourage governments to take wellbeing measures into
account when developing policy.
Action for Happiness has a community of 130,000
members who are taking action to build a happier society, including
a network of over 100 Happy Cafes across the UK. Its members run
science-based courses and events to
help people explore what really matters in life and develop skills
to increase their own and other people's happiness. Prof. Layard
has spent much of his career working on how to improve people's
quality of life and was one of the first economists globally to
study happiness.
Professor Richard Layard said:
"If governments want to stay in power they
should take the happiness of the people more seriously than
economic measures. This is a vitally important finding - perhaps
one of the most significant in a generation. It's essential that
our leaders look beyond narrow financial measures and focus on the
wider set of factors that really affect the wellbeing of the nation
- and especially mental health".
Dr Mark Williamson, CEO of Action for Happiness
said:
"Today's report shows how important happiness
is as a measure of social progress. Economic indicators like GDP
and unemployment are part of a wider picture and we need to focus
more on the things that really matter - so we can create a society
where everyone has the chance to flourish and no-one gets left
behind. Whether you're a political decision maker or someone coming
to an Action for Happiness community course, we can all benefit
from prioritising good mental health and helping to build stronger
and more trusting communities".
According to Action for Happiness, science shows
happiness is something that we all have the ability to cultivate.
The charity suggests simple daily acts of happiness and kindness
which are based on the latest research in positive psychology,
neuroscience, behavioural economics and biology. These actions,
delivered through an app and online calendar, support people to
feel happier and increase the happiness of other people around
them.
Positive Psychology Expert Vanessa King of Action for
Happiness said:
"Daily nudges you get through the app might be
to ring an old friend or to ask everyone you meet what is going
well in their lives. An important part of happiness is giving;
actions for this would be to pay for the cup of coffee of the
person behind you in the queue; or to write three thank you notes
to people who have done something to help you recently; or have a
chat to an elderly neighbour or homeless person. These simple acts
of kindness stimulate the reward centre of the brain and help both
the giver and receiver to feel happier which can boost trust in our
society."
The World Happiness Report also highlighted that since
2012 the amount of time young people in the US spend on social
media has increased significantly, with 17-18 year-olds spending
over 6 hours a day on three activities, the internet, social media
and texting. Time spent sleeping and on face to face social
interactions has decreased as happiness has decreased. The report
highlighted that girls spending 5 or more hours a day on social
media are three times more likely to be depressed than non-users
and heavy internet users are twice as likely to be unhappy.
The United Nations International Day of Happiness is being
celebrated online and at events around the globe. The day is
coordinated by Action for Happiness via the dayofhappiness.net campaign site. Supporters
are encouraged to take part by carrying out acts of kindness and
sharing what makes them happy on social media using the hashtag
#InternationalDayOfHappiness. This year's theme is
Happier Together, focusing on what we have in
common, rather than what divides us.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
The 2019 World Happiness Report will be published at
on 20th March 2019 at http://worldhappiness.report
For interviews, further comment and information please
contact: Sarah Vero, Head of Communications Action
for Happiness: 07414 639227 sarah.vero@actionforhappiness.org
Action for Happiness is a movement
with 130,000 members and over a million followers online. Its
patron is the Dalai Lama and it has no commercial, political or
religious affiliations.
Action for Happiness promotes the Ten Keys to Happier Living
that are underpinned by the latest research in positive psychology.
It also provides daily actions people can take to be happier and
kinder through its app and online calendar, used by millions of
people.
It's flagship 8-week Exploring What Matters
course has been run in over 250 locations and attended by many
thousands of people. It also hosts regular public events, supports a network of
Happy Cafes and provides resources for schools and organisations.