Research finds that kinder countries are happier. This shouldn’t be a surprise. The belief in the kindness of others, as well as actively caring about and sharing with others, has strong effects on happiness. According to the report, how benevolent a society is—and how benevolent we perceive our society to be —matters for everyone’s well-being.
The happiest countries in 2023 were Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands. This year, the United States fell slightly from #23 to #24 out of nearly 150 countries, just below Germany and the U.K. In 2012 the U.S. actually ranked in the top 20 for happiness – 11th place – the highest ranking for the U.S. to date.
The primary source for the annual happiness rankings is data from the 2023 Gallup World Poll, which asks respondents to evaluate their current life. There were several significant responses that made a difference in overall happiness.
- Data analysis indicated major differences in happiness based on the rates of meal-sharing around the world, with sharing meals having a positive effect on well-being. In the U.S., roughly 1 in 4 Americans reported eating all their meals alone on the previous day.
- Data also revealed that a factor contributing to America’s drop in the rankings, as well as the rankings of some European countries, was “the rise in political polarization and votes against ‘the system.'”
- Another interesting revelation were answers to the ‘returned wallet’ question which was also included in the 2019 happiness survey. Participants who were more pessimistic whether someone would actually return a lost wallet had lower happiness ratings.
The statement by Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup best sums up the findings,
“Happiness isn’t just about wealth or growth —
it’s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back.”
How benevolent is the community at your workplace? How do employees rate trust, connection, and knowing that co-workers and managers have their backs?
Our research suggests that these findings apply to the communities within corporations not just nations! For our research, participants at six different facilities reporting low trust, a lack of connection, a sense of not belonging, and perceptions that co-workers and managers did not have their backs also reported low levels of well-being and productivity. We found that well-being soared when these characteristics were ranked high.
It is imperative to realize that fostering trust, respect, kindness, empathy, and camaraderie are foundational qualities to be a successful and sustainable business.
- These are the qualities and characteristics of great leaders and high performing teams.
- The qualities can become habitual through self-awareness and practice.
- Safe spaces can be created for social connections at your site, but also infused within the organization as part of your work culture, during meetings, wellness initiatives, and safety programs. It becomes the way work is done!
- Expectations and behaviors must be clearly communicated, including behaviors and language that will NOT be tolerated such as bullying, incivility, name calling, and disrespect.
While not easy, moving forward in this direction is simple and possible. It is the journey that matters, and it is continuing the journey that is most important, rather than thinking the outcome is ‘achieved’.
The behaviors, language, and expectations are on a continuum. Consider where your organization currently is on that continuum and where you want to head: Closer to the end with trust, respect, empathy, camaraderie and the other end of bullying, distrust, not sharing information, undermining, name calling, and disrespect.
Greater Good Happiness Report
CBS News
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash