The Happiness Institute in Australia reminded us how very culturally dependent measures of happiness can be.
Today they cite a study in the United Kingdom that reports hairdressers are the happiest profession.
We don’t know where hair dressing ranks in University of Chicago’s study, nor do we know where the clergy rank in happiness and job satisfaction in Great Britain.
It’s important to appreciate how very subjective and culturally dependent happiness and job satisfaction studies can be.
Are similar questions being asked in the same way to similar groups of people? Do the questions and answers mean the same things?
The United States and Great Britain are very similar in many ways, we would expect surveys of happiness and job satisfaction to be alike too.
Just as we were surprised to see tomatoes regularly served for breakfast on our first trip to Great Britain, we should expect surprises in happiness and job satisfaction rankings between countries and cultures as well.
See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.
Copyright 1999- , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints. Michele Moore is author of How To Live A Happy Life – 101 Ways To Be Happier.
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