For the next five weeks, I’m going to be digging into the idea of being happy at work. This week, I’m going to share why we’re talking about this in the first place. I’m sharing some high-level statistics here, but click on the links to the articles and studies to dig in more. It’s great stuff.
First, the Next Generation Prizes Happiness Above Everything Else
When you ask the members of Generation Z what value they prize most in life, most have a simple answer: happiness. In fact, over half of Generation Z say happiness is their ultimate goal in life according to a study by the Barna Group. This is important for two reasons: The next generation entering the workforce wants to be happy. And, if that is the case, they’re looking for places to work that will make them happy.
Second, For Those of Us a Bit Older, It Seems That Many of Us are Also Unhappy
The desire for happiness isn’t exclusive to Gen Z.
- In 2017, Time Magazine found that just 33% of Americans were happy. That was a very slight increase from the year before, when 31% of Americans reported being happy.
- When OnePoll surveyed 2,000 British people on how happy they were, their average happiness level was 6.3 out of 10.
- Finally, in the 2019 World Happiness Report, the report found that…
