1 Nov 2011

Are you happy? The government wants to know

Are you happy with your partner? That’s just one of the questions the coalition government wants the answer to, in its quest to find out the state of the nation beyond just the economic data.

The Office of National Statistics has published a list of new indicators of wellbeing that will be used by experts as they try to carry out the governments plan to measure the state of the happiness in the UK.

The list includes questions which peer into family life as well as background, such as: “Are you happy with your partner?” and “How well educated are you?”.

National statistician Jil Matheson said: “It’s about finding robust ways to measure how society is doing.”

It’s about finding robust ways to measure how society is doing. Jil Matheson, statistician

The questions are the latest part of a programme that was kick started last year by David Cameron, in an attempt to discover whether wellbeing in society can be judged by non-economic standards.

After launching the investigation last year, the ONS has used different methods to open up discussion on wellbeing. The first part saw a three month debate, run through hundreds of events across the UK, ranging from parent and toddler groups to large conferences. People were asked what was important to them. At the same time an online consultation was running, hosting blogs on the issue and speaking to groups who already research the wellbeing area.

There were around 34,000 responses to the debate. Researchers then used four specific questions on individual well being in the annual ONS household survey, asking questions like “how anxious did you feel yesterday” and “to what extent do you feel the things you do are worthwhile”. That survey garnered a further 200,000 responses.

Searching for a way to measure well-being

Spokeswoman Lisa Davies told Channel 4 News, “These new measures have been pulled together as a result of the national debate. They are the domains that we think matter and we will continue the consultation with similar groups to those we worked with before. We are working out how to measure well-being, looking at whether we need one indicator – like GDP – or a series of indicators.”

The programme is being completed over four years by a team of experts who hope to find a clear way to measure the concept of happiness.

David and Samantha cameron (R)

The happiness index
Are you satisfied with your life?
How satisfied are you with your husband or wife?
How do you rate your physical and mental health?
Do you have a job and are you happy with it?
Is your neighbourhood contented and do you fear crime?
Are you satisfied with your income?
How well educated are you?
Do you trust politicians and your local council?

David Cameron announced last year that he wanted to introduce a “happiness index” to complement the GDP figures, which look at national wealth.

He said at the time: “We’ll continue to measure GDP as we’ve always done. But it is high time we admitted that, taken on its own, GDP is an incomplete way of measuring a country’s progress.”

The survey will also include official statistics on the economy and will measure green energy use.

In spring next year ONS will publish a summary of views collected during the consultation and the time table of next steps.

UK ‘worst place to live in Europe’

The happiness index is sorely needed, if one study is to be believed. In September, the UK was named the worst place to live in Europe for quality of life.

The study, conducted by uSwitch, pointed to the fact that despite having a higher average household income than many countries – the fourth highest in Europe – Britons have less holiday than the European average and a higher cost of living. The average spent per head on education is low as is spending on health.

France and Spain topped the league table, which also looked at working hours, VAT and the cost of cigarettes.

Happy people may live longer finds study

A study out this week of almost 4,000 middle aged and elderly people found that those who felt the most positive over the course of a single day tended to live the longest.

Some 3,853 people aged 52 to 79 were questioned as part of a long-running investigation called the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Participants were asked to rate their feelings at particular moments of one day. They were monitored for five years.

The authors, led by Professor Andrew Steptoe from University College London, were unable to say whether happiness actually extended lifespan or was a marker for other factors that helped people live longer.