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The United States is the richest nation in the history of the world. But there is little evidence that its citizens are, on average, happier today than they were in the 1850s, when wealth and income were much lower, even at the median level and adjusted for inflation. A 2019 Gallup poll of 20,000 people in 140 countries found that about 45% of Americans said they field a lot of worry the precious day.
Part of what’s happened here is that we have used our grater wealth to buy bigger and better stuff. But we have simultaneously given up more control over our time.
What happened to our time, on the other hand, barely looks like progress. And a lot of the reason has to do with the kind of jobs more of us now have.
In 1870, 46% of jobs were in agriculture and 35% were in crafts or manufacturing.
Thirty-eight percent of jobs are now designated as mangers, officials and professionals. There are decision making jobs. Another 41% are service jobs that often rely on your thoughts as much as your actions.
Compared to generations prior, control over your time has demised. And since controlling your time is such as key happiness influencer, who should not be surprised that people do not feel much happier even though we are, on average, richer than ever.
It is not an easy problem to solve, because everyone’s different. The first step is merely acknowledging what does not, make almost everyone happy.
What they did value were things like quality friendships, being part of something bigger than themselves and spending quality, unstructured time with their children. Your kinds do not want your money anywhere near as much as they want you, specifically they want you with them.
