“This four-letter word is the Swedish key to happiness at work” – Quartz, March 14, 2016
This short article looks at the “secret” to work happiness in Sweden – where workers are among the least stressed worldwide. It’s a four-letter word: fika…a coffee break during which employees leave work behind and relax in the company of colleagues. It is a key pause for the Swedish workday, and it may even boost productivity!
If you live in the U.S. or the U.K., you’ve seen the swirling headlines about the developments in workplace wellness: businesses rushing to offer everything from standing treadmill desks to financial wellness counseling. Amazing progress is underway, but we need to do a little global gut-check; the average worker in the world is extremely unwell. Consider this: Three-quarters of people live on less than $13 a day, the same percentage report that their wellbeing is suffering, and over half are overweight or obese.
The share of income held by the top 1-percent has risen in an unprecedented way across the world over the last 30 years. But there has been little research about how the new, intense income disparities affect human wellbeing. A new study is the first to provide evidence that the 1 percent wealth/income grab has a direct, negative effect on the wellbeing of the other 99 percent.
Studies have revealed a link between long work hours and risk of cardiovascular disease. A new study shows it’s a dose-response situation: the more hours you work, the bigger the risk. The research found that for every extra hour of work put in weekly (over a decade), your risk goes up 1 percent. If you work 55 hours a week, your risk jumps 16 percent – work 65 hours, your risk rises 52 percent. If you clock 75 hours a week working, you double your likelihood for cardiovascular disease (stroke, heart attack, etc.).
The GWI’s Initiative, “Wellness for Cancer,” tackles a serious problem: while the world is now chasing every kind of “wellness,” we need to grasp that we’re a diseased society. Cancer has become more prevalent, and people suffering from cancer are a big percentage of wellness and spa businesses’ client base. But far too few spas are trained to be the best for those who need it most: those that have, or are recovering from, cancer.
World Happiness Report Released – “Denmark Ranks as Happiest Country; Burundi, Not So Much” – The New York Times, 3.17.16
The fourth World Happiness Report was released last week, and Denmark has reclaimed its place as the world’s happiest country, while Burundi ranks last. This year’s report finds that “inequality is strongly associated with unhappiness — a stark finding for rich countries like the United States, where rising disparities in income, wealth, health and well-being have fueled political discontent.” The world happiness leaders: Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden. All are nations with strong safety nets and more homogenous populations.
