Good ‘enough’
JAMES Packer’s openly reported recent admission to a psychiatric hospital reflects the decreasing stigma of acknowledging mental health problems. This is a good thing. It also raises the question about the relationship between money and happiness.
Despite the cultural value we place on seeking and attaining wealth, research suggests that the actual relationship between wealth and happiness is relatively modest. This is partly reflected in the GDP of numerous wealthy nations increasing threefold over the past half-century or so with minimal increases in happiness levels. Furthermore, people can have high or low levels of subjective wellbeing at every income level.
What do we know from research about money and happiness? One common finding is that there is a general increase in happiness at both a national and individual level according to wealth, in that citizens of nations with higher GDP and individuals earning greater income within each country tend to be happier overall. It is understandable that those suffering from poverty are less likely to be happy, partly because they have less access to good food, housing and health care. Those with low levels of income are also less buffered from the impact of such adverse circumstances as illness or divorce.
Another common finding is that beyond a certain level of income, there is no further increase in happiness, and there may even be a slight decline. This is reflected in recently reported results in a World Gallup Poll based on 1.7 million adults in 146 countries. This study included data from many world regions including Australasia.
Happiness was assessed in two ways: life satisfaction, or how well you rate your life, and emotional wellbeing. Life satisfaction was scored on a 0 to 10 scale, where 0 would represent “the worst possible life” and 10 would represent “the best possible life”. To illustrate the modest relationship between income and happiness, in Australia, the average reported happiness level of a single person earning approximately $20,000 is around 7/10, whereas that of those earning $200,000 is about 8/10.
In Australia, beyond an income of around $65,000 there was no further increase in positive affect, defined as relative levels of happiness and enjoyment, or decrease in negative affect, defined as stress, worry and sadness. When there was a slight but significant decline in wellbeing with increased income at the higher end in many countries, it was speculated that this might relate in part to people having increased expectations, workloads and responsibilities. Very high income earners might also potentially have more materialistic goals or tendencies to compare themselves competitively with others, features that can detract from happiness. What might we make of these findings? One thing is to be wary of chasing extra income to boost our happiness, especially if this has significant costs to our stress levels, marriage, social life or other interests. After all, we know that good relationships, engaging in leisure activities and good mental health contribute positively to subjective wellbeing. It likely compromises our happiness if we become either focused on materialism or social comparisons. We are more likely to be happy if we develop our personal concept of having ‘enough’.
James Packer’s situation can also give us pause to consider that whereas money can help solve a range of practical problems, it also can create problems of its own. Having highly visible wealth and success can be associated with very high expectations of oneself and from others. With so much at stake there can be even greater fears of loss. There can be extra questioning about one’s relationships and whether people are seeking to associate with you in part because of your wealth and status.
Very wealthy individuals are often subject to social media intrusion. They can be susceptible to social isolation. It can be even more difficult to admit perceived weaknesses or failures given greater public expectations.
Again, we can be thankful for James Packer’s lead in showing courage in squarely acknowledging his current mental health problems. The odds are stacked in his favour, as for most of those suffering from depression, for making a good recovery, hopefully gaining something valuable in the process. Many of us might be reminded to be grateful for our own circumstances, however ordinary they might seem, which hopefully include having supportive family, friends and more than enough income to live on.