Job security did not, somewhat surprisingly, affect an individual’s happiness as much as expected: of the almost 36 percent who said they felt anxiety about the possibility of being laid off, 61 percent still described themselves as “happy,” while 76 percent of those who felt stable in their jobs were happy.  Business people also took some degree of satisfaction from working overtime, as those working between 70 and 99 hours of OT a month showed the greatest happiness, while those who worked no overtime were the least happy.  Finally, drinking with one’s colleagues also appears to boost happiness.  Respondents who drank with a superior, associates and subordinates several times a month were the happiest, while those who never socialized with one’s officemates were the least happy.

The Happiness Survey was designed to better understand what factors contribute to the business person’s sense of happiness in and was published in the April 3, 2009 edition of Aera Style Magazine, which was launched last November as a male fashion supplement to AERA, a weekly news magazine.

Japanese readers can view the entire article in the current issue of Aera Style magazine.

Results of a global happiness survey from The Nielsen Company reveal that men are happier with money, while women are happier with friendships and relationships with their children, co-workers and bosses.

“Because they are happier with non-economic factors, women’s happiness is more recession-proof, which might explain why women around the world are happier in general than men are,” said Bruce Paul, VP Consumer Research, US, The Nielsen Company.

The 51-country Nielsen Happiness Study, which polled 28,153 respondents online in May 2008, found that globally, women are happier than men in 48 of the 51 countries surveyed, and only in Brazil, South Africa and Vietnam were men found to be happier than women. Japanese women reported the greatest difference and are 15 percent happier than Japanese men. Women are also more optimistic about the future, scoring higher than men on predictions of their happiness in the next six months.

Globally, women were also happier with their sex lives although men were generally happier with their spouses. Japanese and New Zealand women reported the greatest difference in satisfaction with their sex lives.

View the full press release.

Read Retuers’ coverage of Nielsen’s findings.