50%deposit Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jan/24/b...ation-happiness Tired, suspicious, bored and lonely: the British fare poorly in a new, detailed study which ranks European countries according to a sense of national contentment.Britain comes third from the bottom in western Europe in the National Accounts of Wellbeing report, published today. The report, by independent thinktank the New Economics Foundation (Nef), is one of a number of projects aiming to study the concept of wellbeing. Researchers asked 42,000 people in 22 countries around 50 questions based on two concepts: personal wellbeing, and broader social wellbeing, looking at how relationships with others contribute to personal happiness. Ranked on social wellbeing alone, Britain came 15th, with Denmark and Norway ranking top. Answers to questions reveal that young people in Britain have the lowest levels of trust and belonging in Europe, matched only in Bulgaria and Estonia. A fifth of the population reports having restless sleep most or all of the time, and 28% say they almost never wake up feeling rested. Across Europe, the British have the second lowest levels of energy (trailed only by Spain). Britain is also the most bored nation in western Europe, with 8% feeling bored most of the time; a fifth said they felt their everyday activities were neither valuable nor worthwhile. "This is what people mean when they talk about a broken society," said Nic Marks, one of the report's coauthors. Nef wants its study to encourage governments to rely less on economic indicators and GDP, and more on measures of happiness. The report states that a "myopic obsession with growing the economy has meant that we tend to ignore its negative impacts on our wellbeing, such as longer working hours and rising levels of indebtedness. It has created an economic system that has squeezed out opportunities for individuals, families and communities to pursue activities that promote wellbeing." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1929crash Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Well, I for one, like living in Britain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uptherebels Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Well, I for one, like living in Britain. Me too. It's great fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50%deposit Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Well, I for one, like living in Britain. oh, so thats makes being third from the bottom totally ok. fine. I for one like high house prices so thats totally ok too. fine. fantastic. Lets totally ignore this report on the grounds that your all right jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1929crash Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) oh, so thats makes being third from the bottom totally ok. fine. I for one like high house prices so thats totally ok too. fine. fantastic. Lets totally ignore this report on the grounds that your all right jack. No, I like living in Britain. It's not a case of "I'm alright Jack." There are plenty of things wrong. But try to concentrate on the things that are fine - national health service (unlike the US where people either don't see a doctor or go bankrupt to pay their medical bills), relatively tolerant and open society, no mega earthquakes, no plagues, enough food, friends. Would you prefer Zimbabwe, or Russia, or Indonesia, or Saudi Arabia, or Gaza? Edited January 24, 2009 by 1929crash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
council dweller Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Well, I for one, like living in Britain. Me too. Sitting on living-room sofa, cat on lap, wife in kitchen making tea. What's not to like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grime- skint wouldbe ftb Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Denmark usually scores very highly on these happiness surveys. The usual conclusion reached (though kept quiet due to PC) is the homogenous nature of Danish society... immigration is a recent phenomena and relatively low key. Stil, its clearly racist and evil to point out such a fact, an Orwellian non-NuLab-Utopian thought-crime that must be supressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Denmark usually scores very highly on these happiness surveys.The usual conclusion reached (though kept quiet due to PC) is the homogenous nature of Danish society... immigration is a recent phenomena and relatively low key. Stil, its clearly racist and evil to point out such a fact, an Orwellian non-NuLab-Utopian thought-crime that must be supressed. Maybe the fact their birds look like this helps.... On a more serious note they have extremely harsh rules on immigration. People have to work for a certain number of years in certain jobs learning the language before they are accepted. I imagine it ensures the only immigrants in Denmark are those willing to integrate and work hard. Seems a fair plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50%deposit Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 No, I like living in Britain. It's not a case of "I'm alright Jack." There are plenty of things wrong. But try to concentrate on the things that are fine - national health service (unlike the US where people either don't see a doctor or go bankrupt to pay their medical bills), relatively tolerant and open society, no mega earthquakes, no plagues, enough food, friends.Would you prefer Zimbabwe, or Russia, or Indonesia, or Saudi Arabia, or Gaza? are you retarded? this post is about the report. Why dont you focuss on the content of the report whih places us third from the bottom and not the content of your personal feaalings on your happyness in england. Surprise surprise, there are lots of people that are happy in England. wow. Eureka. the report says we are third from bottom. you'd make a great politican - way to not deal with the issue. Example. Hey, Mr Brown - many people think theres an economic crisi Mr Brown replys, no, im quite happy. no crisis here. yes i would rather live somewhere else, obviously not zimbabwe, and guess what, i've done it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50%deposit Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Denmark usually scores very highly on these happiness surveys.The usual conclusion reached (though kept quiet due to PC) is the homogenous nature of Danish society... immigration is a recent phenomena and relatively low key. Stil, its clearly racist and evil to point out such a fact, an Orwellian non-NuLab-Utopian thought-crime that must be supressed. exactly lets ban everything in this country starting with freedom of speech. then lets ban speach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stop The Ride Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 are you retarded? this post is about the report. Why dont you focuss on the content of the report whih places us third from the bottom and not the content of your personal feaalings on your happyness in england. Surprise surprise, there are lots of people that are happy in England. wow. Eureka.the report says we are third from bottom. you'd make a great politican - way to not deal with the issue. Example. Hey, Mr Brown - many people think theres an economic crisi Mr Brown replys, no, im quite happy. no crisis here. yes i would rather live somewhere else, obviously not zimbabwe, and guess what, i've done it. Try looking in the mirror and giving yourself a little smile. Might make you feel a bit better. Failing that, a nice cup of tea should cheeer you up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stop The Ride Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Denmark usually scores very highly on these happiness surveys.The usual conclusion reached (though kept quiet due to PC) is the homogenous nature of Danish society... immigration is a recent phenomena and relatively low key. Stil, its clearly racist and evil to point out such a fact, an Orwellian non-NuLab-Utopian thought-crime that must be supressed. The North Koreans must be dead happy in that case - they have very little immigration. I always imagined it was the high tax, high public spending social democracy that made Danes happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) Try looking in the mirror and giving yourself a little smile. Might make you feel a bit better. Failing that, a nice cup of tea should cheeer you up. Yeah, I agree mate. 50%deposit relax. 1929Crash was just saying how he personally enjoys living here. As do I. After all, my family and friends are here. Surely relationships count for more than your surroundings, and personally I think the surroundings aren't too bad. You go and visit any other place in the world, and sooner or later you will miss England. It might be depressing in the winter, but this is our country, our home. Edited January 24, 2009 by Ted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stgermain Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 are you retarded? this post is about the report. Why dont you focuss on the content of the report whih places us third from the bottom and not the content of your personal feaalings on your happyness in england. Rather than contend with the spurious findings of the report, why don't you give some thought to the character of the nations polled? The British are, supposedly, renowned for their pessimism, cynicism and sarcasm. There's every chance that the glass-half-empty responses demonstrate little of the reality of people's lives and life in these British Isles but speak more to the attitude of their residents, especially their attitude to such polling. Not to mention; if you hate it, piss off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Converted Lurker Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Me too. Sitting on living-room sofa, cat on lap, wife in kitchen making tea. What's not to like? how about my eldest lad insisting on watching airforce one on telly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50%deposit Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Try looking in the mirror and giving yourself a little smile. Might make you feel a bit better. Failing that, a nice cup of tea should cheeer you up. this is not about me. the fact that i hate this country is irrelevent, this thread is about the linked reference to the report thats states certain things. do you work for the government department of ignoring the issues. when i look in the mirror i see awesomeness, because i am awesome. unfortunatly, this country isn't. i cant drink tea as it messes my nervous system up for some reason. to cheer my self up I LEAVE THE COUNTRY - I GO TO AMSTERDAM WHERE EJOYING YOURSELF IS NOT ILLEGAL - unfortunatly I have to come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50%deposit Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Not to mention; if you hate it, piss off. lol, you too should work for the government. if you mean by 'piss off' that I should seek better conditions overseas, I have already done that. However, im english, and my business is in england, so i cant just leave. id love to meet you so you could explain to me, face to face how people that dont like the way of life in the UK should piss off. Are you Asian by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Converted Lurker Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 No, I like living in Britain. It's not a case of "I'm alright Jack." There are plenty of things wrong. But try to concentrate on the things that are fine - national health service (unlike the US where people either don't see a doctor or go bankrupt to pay their medical bills), relatively tolerant and open society, no mega earthquakes, no plagues, enough food, friends.Would you prefer Zimbabwe, or Russia, or Indonesia, or Saudi Arabia, or Gaza? not sure where the UK measures in relation to its social care/welfare atm but; free healthcare, a genuine support system where the legions of about to be unemployed can at least get something - tax credits, dole, mortgage/rent paid....there's 2 points that knock the US into a cocked hat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bimyo Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 If this is true, the New Labour/ Guardian drive to turn everything into league tables is one of the things that took us there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve99 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Well, I for one, like living in Britain. We would have done, had we been able to stay employed, not just employed but in secure jobs that dont burn you out 10 hours a day and 2 - 3 hours comuting. My last employer made redundancies every 3 - 6 monhts for 5 years before I fnaly got the chop, apparently it kept everyone their toes. Bet they dont do that in Denmark. Wife also worked in similar environment and is now unemployed. Deliberate house price inflation has kept everyone on a piece of string for years now, keep your insecure job and maybe you will keep your mortgaged up house, this of course breeds more fear, and of course lots of people that got roped into housing market did so out of fear of being left out for ever, bet that didnt happen in Denmark or Norway. Add on the other crap bits about the UK, like having the most expensive public transport system in the world and a pretty high crime rate doesnt help. If the UK is around the bottom of the Happiness table, then the big VI's have done their job well (anyone remember that tory minister who said 'Its about time we reintroduced fear back into the workplace') , we have become a satalite of the USA, not Europe. Debt ridden, financialy insecure and fear driven people are the antithesis of a happy society and if was possible to breed out the the last 30 years of Americanisation out of the British mindset then perhaps it will be a great place to be again. All this sh*t is what has made living in a good country, bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pindar Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 The UK has an imbalanced work/life balance in my opinion. There are two extremes - those who won't work and like live on benefits and those who spend all their time working. Employment in the UK has become a minefield for employers (unless they are large organisations with good legal resources) and small businesses have been squeezed and regulated - taking the incentive away from people to start their own businesses. Happiness comes primarily from fulfilment in ones work, personal relationships with friends, family and spouse and of course, leisure time to pursue your own interests. What hope do many have of attaining fulfilment in work if they are doing mindless jobs that should really be being done by computers or machines? The landscape of the developed world could be so different, particularly in places like the UK if the mindset could be changed from work-a-day for pay to something different and more in keeping with what some visionaries saw as possible futures for industrialised countries. The scale and pace of immigration has to be a major factor that the UK no longer feels like "home" to many and quite understandably makes them unhappy, particularly when they are having to compete with people with lower expectations for quality of life and working hours. The place they grew up in has been changed beyond recognition in some parts - to the detriment of the character and "feel" of the place. The race to the bottom is going to create many problems in the coming years, coupled with the ageing population and the wholesale, short sighted destruction of much heavy industry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patfig Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I too would love living in Britain but , oh well, I am 12000 miles away and the sun is shining and I am smiling having a nice cup of tea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.