Can money make you happy?
December 2005

Usually people become richer as they age. However this is not necessarily accompanied by more happiness.

More money does not mean more happiness. No one can argue against the fact that a minimum necessary of financial power is needed in order to satisfy basic needs. Nevertheless this level is relatively low.

In people the relativity of their income is more important than its absolute value. People do not feel rich if they do not compare their own situation with others. But no matter how well off is someone financially wise, there is always somebody else who will be in a better situation.

A result of this, is the fact that as soon as people achieve their aims, they immediately put new and higher targets to reach. Automatically the hopes for happiness change level. The necessary precondition to make people happy is then the achievement of these new higher and more difficult aims.

For many people life is a continuous search of what they want instead of being the search of satisfaction and happiness.

The relativity of the feelings of satisfaction and happiness, is well documented from studies done in rich and poor countries.

In developed and rich countries like Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States of America, people are much more rich than people in poorer countries like Mexico and Ghana.

However the level of satisfaction and happiness has been found to be on similar levels in spite the fact that in richer countries, income can be as much as 10 times higher than in poorer countries.

Additionally research has shown that the fourfold increase of the income in developed countries during the last decades, was not accompanied by a significant rise in terms of satisfaction and happiness of their citizens.

Happiness in people influences physical health.

In the countries of former Soviet Union, people are considered among those who are today the less happy. It has been observed that their lifespan shows a continuous decrease.

Interesting studies done in nuns for more than 70 years, found that those who in their youth expressed positive emotions, had an average duration of life 10 years longer than those who had the least positive emotions.

It is certain that scientific research has produced convincing evidence that happiness adds years to lifespan as well as quality to the years that we live.

We therefore see that financial wealth, after a certain minimum, does not offer us happiness and when it does this is little and short-lived.

But if money does not buy us happiness, what does?

Economists define as "social capital" the bonds that exist between people and their families, their neighbors, their coworkers, the community and their religious groups.

There is a strong association between the subjective feelings of satisfaction and happiness on one side and the power of social capital of each individual on the other. In fact the depth and breadth of an individual's social connections are the most important factors that predict his or hers level of happiness.

Professional life is a key element for the satisfaction and happiness someone has from his life.

The degree of autonomy in the workplace, the way, amount and rhythm of the work to be done, the trust between employer and employee, the correctness and fairness of procedures, participation in decision making, are important factors related to satisfaction obtained from professional life.

On a national level, when governments give importance to the individuals preferences, then citizens are more happy. The choices offered and simultaneously the feeling of being in position to influence political developments, increase the degree of satisfaction and happiness of the citizens.

May be the citizens of a country should demand that the target of their governments should be the increase of their happiness.

The degree of happiness of the citizens of a country should be included in the indices of progress of a country in the same  manner as the financial indices. It is necessary that the happiness index of a country should be surveyed and its progress followed up closely.

We should not forget that a better society is the one where the level of happiness is higher.

Bibliography:

The social context of well-being,  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2004;359(1449), September 29, 2004.

Happiness,  British Medical Journal 2005;331:1489-1490, doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1489, December 24, 2005.

Understanding the toll of premature death among men in eastern Europe ,  British Medical Journal  2001323:1051-1055, November 3, 2001.