The secret of happiness

Time for a little test!

Here's a simple question: what makes people in Britain happy?

Your task is to rank the following items in order of importance as voted for by those adults asked to identify what makes them happy.

• Helping others in the UK
• Living in a world where the environment is protected and where poverty does not exist
• Having a job with a high income
• Helping those abroad
• Having an interesting job
• Spending time with friends and family 

The poll was conducted to coincide with the launch today of Wholly Living, a report by Catholic aid agency CAFOD, Christian relief and development agency Tearfund and the public theology think-tank Theos. Examining human wellbeing in the context of both the UK and international development, the report invites the UK government, as well as people of all faiths and none, to enter the debate on how best to create an environment in which to engender human flourishing.

Tearfund Chief Executive Matthew Frost said:

It's interesting that in this time of economic uncertainty, when we might have expected people to prioritise income over all else, we have instead found that people look outwards to the state of the environment, world poverty and personal relationships with others as their measures of happiness

So HR Professionals who believe that you need to finely craft your reward and recognition frameworks in order to effectively motivate your employees, you might be interested to see the scores on the doors.

The keys to happiness according to those polled are:

• Spending time with friends and family (97%)
• Having an interesting job (92%)
• Living in a world where the environment is protected and where poverty does not exist (90%)
• Helping others in the UK (75%)
• Having a job with a high income (64%)
• Helping those abroad (54%)  

And other sections of the report give HR professionals some pointers about what matters to people within their working environments:

It's hugely important to people to enjoy interesting and productive work, and to have healthy relationships and friendships – people measure happiness by what they give to others and what they gain in return. Of course a level of financial security is essential, but it’s clear that British people recognise that the people in our lives come first.