That’s life!
Most of you are satisfied with your life so far – in fact 83% of you are satisfied and just 7% dissatisfied (the other 10% are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied). This level of satisfaction does not really differ between men and women.
Life satisfaction is related to age, as a greater proportion of 16-24 year olds seem to be happy with life (87% satisfied) compared to about 79% of 35-54 year olds. Retirement does seem to be a good thing as about 89% of those aged 65 or above are satisfied with their life.
Life satisfaction is also strongly related to how people fare in the labour market. For example, full-time students are the most satisfied group, with 98% satisfied with life. People who are employed (86% satisfied) or retired (87% satisfied) are also generally happier than the average. Those who are least likely to say that they are satisfied with life are those who are looking after the home or family (76% satisfied), the unemployed (57% satisfied) and those with a long-term sickness or disability (35% satisfied).
We also asked about satisfaction with your health, your income and the amount of leisure time you have. Overall, around three-quarters (76%) of you were satisfied with your health, although this level is higher for those aged 16-44 than the older age groups. Around two-thirds (66%) of you were satisfied with the amount of leisure time you have. Again, there is an age difference here with both younger ages (16-24) and older ages (55 and above) with much higher levels of satisfaction with the amount of leisure time they have compared to those aged 25-54. About six in ten of you (62%) were satisfied with your income. This is slightly lower for those aged 35-44 but highest for those aged 65 or above.
Comments
Age ranges
Posted by: Understanding Society - about 2 years ago
Hi Anthony – thanks for your interest. We have added a graph to the information so you can see the full age range – hope that’s helpful.
Trending
Posted by: Bryn - about 2 years ago
As a data point it doesn't tell me much other than the spread of happiness over age ranges. It's not a huge spread and perhaps points to the challenges individuals experience during those periods (since I fit into the mniddle age range I feel the burden of responsibility raising a family, finances etc.). What would be interesting is to examine this with alternative parameters, such as over time, geographies (inter and intra country level), social equality metrics, etc. I assume this is in progress.
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Posted by: Anthony - about 2 years ago
What about the other age ranges 25-34 and 55-64?
Re: Trending
Posted by: Understanding Society - about 2 years ago
Dear @Bryn, thanks for your comment. Yes, you are right that the figures in the report just give the averages for particular age groups. Analysts at Essex University and elsewhere will be able to use the valuable data in Understanding Society to look at how different aspects of life affect happiness; so is it affected by your health, neighbourhood, job, leisure activities etc.
One exciting part of Understanding Society is that it is a panel survey – that is, we aim to go back to the same people and re-interview them. This means that we will get a measure of how happiness changes for individuals across time. So we can see how happiness is affected through the life-course, with milestones such as births, marriages, new jobs etc and with societal changes.
Thanks for your interest in this subject – I hope you will be able to participate in future surveys!