Secrets Of Happiness - A Way Through The Recession

Secrets Of Happiness - A Way Through The Recession

As Kiwis Less Happy This Year Than Last

Happiest Men From Nelson/Marlborough

Happiest Women From Bay Of Plenty

If you want to keep happy through the recession – socialise, keep in close touch with family or friends, have an interest in sports, a hobby or the arts and feel good about yourself.

Those are the key things people who are most happy say keep them happy according to the latest research from UMR Research into New Zealanders’ happiness which shows we are less happy this year than last.

These findings are from UMR Research’s annual survey of a nationally representative sample of over 15,000 New Zealanders aged 18 years and over . New Zealanders were asked to rate on a 0-10 scale where 0 meant ‘very unhappy’ and 10 ‘very happy’ how happy they were and the results are based on those who gave ratings of 9 or 10.

To find out where people are happiest, go to Nelson/Marlborough where the happiest men come from or the Bay of Plenty where the happiest women from. Wellington though is the place where the lowest levels of happiness were recorded.

“The results show women say they are happier than men and that happiness tends to decline between being a young adult until your mid-40s and then to steadily increase peaking at its highest when you’re over 75,” said a UMR Director Tim Grafton.

“Happiness and money don’t go hand-in-hand as those on less than $15,000 a year are slightly happier than those on more than $70,000. However, the least happy are those on middle incomes between $30,000-$50,000,” he said.

The key things that make people happy are their relationships with their family and friends and their job. For women, the relationship with their family and children is a far more significant factor in their happiness than it is for men. However, for men their relationship with their spouse or partner, control over their life or destiny, recreation time and hobbies are more important than they are for women.
“Generally speaking, those who say they are highly social and get outdoors a lot express the highest levels of happiness. One quirky thing we found was that left-handed people were the less happy than right-handed ones,” he said.

Self-image is also a factor in happiness. Those who think they are better looking than most are happy. And those with a keen interest in sports and the arts are happier than the average person.

Notes

UMR’s fortnightly telephone poll randomly samples n=750 New Zealanders aged 18 years and over. Fieldwork was conducted Between June 2008 and June 2009. The total sample size is 15,750 New Zealanders aged 18 years and over. Most data is reported on those who gave a 9 or a10 on a 0-10 scale of Happiness. The margin of error for this analysis is + 1.5%. Additional questions on the reasons for Happiness were asked of 750 New Zealanders between 4-9 June 2009 and have a margin of error of + 3.6%.

ENDS

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