Personal Happiness: Got a Measure?

On a scale of 1 to 4.... or do you know the phrase, I love what I do and I do what I love? Because I am often the last o hear catchy phrases, it was new to me when I heard it in an auditorium in early 2009. At the start of a conference at Claremont Graduate University (the headliner was Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi), a sound technician tested the mikes with that I love phrase. And he sounded genuine. And I was especially impressed because it was before 8:00 in the morning.

Happiness gets a lot of attention in our culture. Some of that attention is on baby boomers, who are said to expect happiness. And because we all assume that the doing generating happiness must be in paid employment, we look to research into job satisfaction. I like this report from a U of Chicago researcher in 2007 on job and general happiness. If you want the fast version (lists), go straight to pages 6 and 7.

Looking at anything from 2007 means looking at stats collected before the Great Recession. So, the next good research will be on happiness in spite of un- and low-employment. And the question of how much happiness today's young adults expect in life and career and will be far more interesting that what boomers expect.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.