Governments, universities and various institutions spend a lot of time studying and promoting the concept of happiness. Much has been made of Bhutan’s happiness index and Denmark is supposedly home to the happiest people in the world. Whenever these happy-clappy reports come out, I wonder how the fifth-happiest country feels and whether a somewhat happy nation starts to ask itself why it’s not as perky as its high-ranking neighbour. Also, why is so little made about the world’s grumpiest nations? Surely they need as much attention, if not more, than the smilier countries of the world? And who are the grumps anyway? Or do we know already? I certainly have my own shortlist of the unhappier peoples of the planet – most of them passport holders from a clutch of crabby developed nations.
At the same time there’s a lot of huff and guff about the best places to work and what makes workers happy. For sure, companies large and small spend vast amounts on corporate therapists who end up telling them to put more fun in the workplace with the end result being an anarchic mix of ugly furniture in crazy colours in reception that no one will ever sit on and an array of “new work” practices that leave everyone bewildered rather than happy.
As I’ve been travelling in Asia on a hyper-compressed schedule this week (morning in Thailand, evening in Singapore and breakfast in Korea), I’ve been thinking about the need to create a “happy nation business index” that would single out the most enjoyable nations in which to do business.