Study: It Takes Hard Work To Be Happy

47 Percent Tell Survey Measuring Americans' Health And Happiness They Are Struggling

(AP)  Staying healthy and happy is a struggle for about half of Americans, according to a massive survey that attempts to measure the nation's general welfare, much like the Dow Jones Industrial Average portrays the health of the stock market.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, based on interviews of more than 100,000 people so far, shows that 47 percent of Americans are struggling and 4 percent are suffering. Forty-nine percent of respondents are reported to be thriving based on a personal assessment of how they feel about their lives at the time of the survey, and where they think they will be in five years.

Pollsters asked people to imagine where they would put themselves on a ladder with 10 steps. Those who said they were on step seven or above are listed as thriving. Those at four or below are suffering. In between are the strugglers.

Those who are thriving tend to have higher incomes, more education and less illness. Those who are suffering have trouble meeting their basic needs, including food, shelter and medical care, said James Harter, Gallup's chief scientist for workplace management and well-being.

Just as the United States is not No. 1 when it comes to measures of the health of its people, it also is not No. 1 in well-being, he said. For example, 83 percent of the residents of Denmark are classified as thriving versus 1 percent who are suffering.

Researchers hope the findings, which can be broken down by occupation, commute time and exercise habits, will help employers better understand what they can do to create happier and healthier workers.

Eventually, they said, the data could even be used to compare health and happiness by ZIP code, creating quite a measuring stick for future generations of politicians.

"There's never been anything quite like it," said Daniel Kahneman, a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

"You're getting details about what it's like to live in this country," said Kahneman, a Princeton University professor brought in by Gallup to discuss the potential uses for the data. "What is the experience of the weekend? What is the experience of the weekday for someone who is sick and has to go to work in the morning? We are going to learn a great deal about what are the determinants of actual happiness."

Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that the United States invests more on health care than any country but that its health care system ranks 37th.

"That doesn't sound like we're getting the best value from the investment we're making," Gerberding said. "That fundamentally is something we as a nation are waking up to."

The research has implications for employers who want to stay on top of problems confronting a particular work force.

The survey shows that manufacturing or transportation workers are most likely to report a negative work environment - 29 percent. Those who report a negative work environment tend to miss more days of work. A worker with up to three chronic conditions and a negative work environment will miss an average of 6.6 more days of work a year than a similar worker who likes his or her work environment, the survey found.

The survey said a negative work environment includes job dissatisfaction, an authoritative boss, lack of trust and lack of focus on individual strengths.

Among all workers, two-thirds reported one or more chronic diseases or recurring conditions. More than a quarter reported back or neck problems; 23 percent cited high cholesterol and 22 percent had high blood pressure. More than one in 10 said they suffered from depression.

Nearly two-thirds of workers reported body mass indexes indicating they could be obese or overweight.

Healthways, which works with companies to improve the health of workers, partnered with Gallup to pay for the survey. The cost of maintaining the index is projected at more than $20 million annually. More than 1,000 are being interviewed daily.

[gce65]

CBS: Not covering this? The WaPost is.

Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection
By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 26, 2006; Page A03

The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer.

The new findings "were against our expectations," said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years.

"We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect."

Federal health and drug enforcement officials have widely used Tashkin''s previous work on marijuana to make the case that the drug is dangerous. Tashkin said that while he still believes marijuana is potentially harmful, its cancer-causing effects appear to be of less concern than previously thought.

Earlier work established that marijuana does contain cancer-causing chemicals as potentially harmful as those in tobacco, he said. However, marijuana also contains the chemical THC, which he said may kill aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous.

MORE ON WA POST WEBSITE
Read it quick! Before the Bush Admin rewrites the reports with non-scientists and changes its conclusions!

[brianbwb-2009]

Places that "hard working" suckers like you have to pay to visit, slaving for a year, in order to be able to afford two weeks off, are the places I get paid the good bucks to relax and hang out in.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I am a "Black" American?

Now I know that this bit of information hurts you to the gap where your soul should be.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Study: It Takes Hard Work To Be Happy"

No, it takes a sucker to be happy while working hard, that is why it is called work, if it was fun, it would be called play.

"Just so long as McVet, SgtRDS, and BrianBWB are all suffering big-time, I''''ll be thriving and happy." Posted by taylor2124,

ROFLMAO! You dare invoke my name in your lunatic wish that people suffer?

I hope you are ready for a lifetime of unhappiness son, because I live in Bali, and work in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, China, and even Mongolia.

Places that "hard working" suckers like you have to pay to visit, slaving for a year, in order to be able to afford two weeks off, are the places I get paid the good bucks to relax and hang out in.

[taylor2124]

Just so long as McVet, SgtRDS, and BrianBWB are all suffering big-time, I''ll be thriving and happy.

[formrusmcsgt]

More than a quarter reported back or neck problems; 23 percent cited high cholesterol and 22 percent had high blood pressure.
---
No correlation with obesity was mentioned, but considering that 2/3 of American adults are overweight, it''s an inescapable conclusion....

[naucoming4u]

"Forty-nine percent of respondents are reported to be thriving based on a personal assessment of how they feel about their lives at the time of the survey, and where they think they will be in five years."

So basically, about 49% of Americans DO NOT pay attention to national and international news/current events. Fascinating.

[speakinup]

yeah right, alexma50085. Last time I read it, it went something like this: "Life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness."

I don''t believe it ever said: "guaranteed free gravey train for life".


You have to earn it the old fashion way, by WORKING for it.

[alexma50085]

The government is not responsible to fulfill all our needs.

Posted by Xlib

Yes, they are not suppose to fulfill all our needs, but they are suppose to make sure that we have a fighting chance to live our lives. Like making sure that wages are equal to the cost of living. Can anyone think to raise a family on $5.85 an hour, cause accourding to our federal government, that''s least that companies can pay you. Yes, some states do have higher minimum wages.
How do we expect to be a happy nation when most have to spend 90% of there time working so they can have a place to live and put food on the table?
When did the American dream include 2 jobs just to live? 50 years ago, no one ever thought you would need 2 jobs to raise a family.

[xlib]

J-Bird-Please don''t miss the last flight to Denmark. Since you seem to love research, please look into the situation in Denmark a bit further. My son lived there for a few years (2002=2004)and they are far from the Utopia you think. They have a great issue with people immigrating and DEMANDING total care. Total care seems to be what you are looking for. For the life of me I don''t know where you found that we are "entitled" to free health care, education, etc. If so, just where would the money come from to pay for all these "entitlement" prgrams? Oh yea, redistribution of wealth. OK, let''s have hill and obama start with redistributing THEIR wealth.
We are entitled to be able to pursue happiness,etc.The government is not responsible to fulfill all our needs.

[j-blrd]

As a liberal American I am not waiting on anybody else to make me happy. If I were to do that I''d surely be driven to suicide given the current state of our country. I think most people are frustrated or dissatisfied with a government that takes care of Big Businesses needs first, without giving much thought to the welfare of the common citizen. Denmark is always the happiest lot in these types of studies. After a little research you will notice that everybody has an entitlement to an equal, free, and appropriate education, universal health-care, and a functional social security plan. Maybe the Danish are onto something, or maybe we just need to try harder at what we are doing, even thought it''s not working.