Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Low ranking of Singapore in happiness index

Alex Au has produced an excellent analysis of a survey called out by Gallops on the happiness level of 145 countries. Singapore stands at a miserable ranking of 97th, in spite of having one of the highest per capita income in the world. Something is seriously wrong with the balance of work and play in Singapore.

Here are the key findings:

Purpose, only 10 – 20% of Singapore respondents were thriving. We were nearly at the bottom compared to other countries, ranking 123 out of 145.  You could say that in general, Singaporeans didn’t like what they had to do each day, and were lacking in motivation.
Social, only 10 – 20 % of Singapore respondents were thriving. We were nearly at the bottom compared to other countries, ranking 123 out of 145. In general, we were reporting rather arid personal lives.
Financial, the picture was vastly different. Over 40% gave responses that Gallup classified as thriving. We ranked 9th out of 145 countries. The average Singaporean was a lot more financially secure than people in most other countries.
Community, we sank again. Only 20 – 30% were thriving, giving us a middling score: 72nd out of 145 countries.
Physical, we sank lowest of all. With only 10 – 20% responses classified as thriving, we ranked near the bottom: 137th out of 145 countries. It could be said that we felt our health was suffering and that we didn’t have the energy to get what we wanted done.
Overall index, Gallup ranked countries by the percentage of responses who were thriving in at least three of the five elements, indicative of a well-balanced life. In Singapore, only 12.7% were. Compared with other countries, this ranked us 97th.

This survey is consistent with what many people here feel: empty, exhausted, alienated. We’re a grumpy, stressed out and dissatisfied society.
You can read a more complete analysis here

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Greeks are the happiest people because they are living on someone else's money. Therefore it is hard for them to think of austerity, cut and etc etc.

Anonymous said...

In Singapore the insurance agents are the happiest people. With only dogs and cats can pass certs they can earn lots of money and fast too other professionals can only dream to earn.
No wonder everybody wants to become insurance agents. You don't need to be financially skilled or an expert you can bull your way through especially customers trust and think highly of you. All agents have to do is always smiling, friendly, be good looking, smartly dressed, pretend to be caring, polite and these are good substitutes for competence.So? aren't they happy? with little yet earn good money.

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