Should we care about happiness?
For years, economists and policymakers have pursued GDP growth as the holy grail. And arguably for good reason: GDP growth goes hand in hand with many indicators of prosperity. Has the time come for senior decision makers to rethink this focus?
Happiness levels seem to go hand-in-hand with GDP growth, but not always. A more multi-dimensional perspective is needed.
The 2024 World Happiness Report offers insights for business leaders and senior decision makers on the evolving landscape of happiness and its far-reaching impacts. The findings underscore the important role happiness plays—not just within teams, but also in how it influences the perceptions and experiences of customers and employees.
Here are some research highlights to consider and reflect on:
1. Size matters.
The top countries no longer include any of the largest countries. Smaller nations often surpass larger ones in happiness rankings. This raises an intriguing question: How can corporations emulate the community-focused drivers that cultivate happiness in these nations? How can they reimagine their strategies for building more cohesive and positive corporate cultures and customer communities?
2. The Happiness formula.
Six variables explain more than three-quarters of a country's variation in the happiness score: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and integrity. Integrating these elements into business strategies can significantly enhance employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
3. The Age of Happiness.
Within the group of those under the age of 30, average life evaluations drop significantly with age. Within the global sample of those over 60, life evaluations rise with age.
There are also generational paradigms at play. Boomers are happier than Gen Xers, who are in turn happier than Millennials and their successors. Trends around this can guide leaders on how to tailor engagement approaches to meet diverse needs.
4. Happiness epicentres.
Finland tops the ranking, for the seventh consecutive year. The US has fallen out of the top 20 for the first time since the World Happiness Report started in 2012, driven by a large drop in the wellbeing of Americans under 30 (the Visual Capitalist image above shows the country scores).The practices and policies that contribute to happiness in leading nations like Finland and Denmark can offer a blueprint for others.
5. The future of wellbeing.
With the coming dementia epidemic that our world faces, could improving wellbeing and happiness protect us from it?
Several countries have built or are building dementia villages to promote the well-being of people living with advanced dementia. Assistive technology can play an important role for people living with dementia and their caregivers. The link between happiness, health, and economic resilience becomes ever more apparent.
