Observatoire

La Fièvre parlementaire : ce monde où l’on catche !

Cette note met en lumière la métamorphose de l’Assemblée nationale française en une véritable scène de spectacle où dominent la colère, la polarisation et les codes des réseaux sociaux, à partir d’une analyse des deux millions de discours prononcés entre 2007 et 2024.

La rhétorique émotionnelle, en particulier celle de la colère, s’est imposée depuis 2017, et de façon encore plus marquée à partir de 2022, tandis que le débat rationnel recule. Les interventions s’appauvrissent et se raccourcissent grandement ; les débats argumentés entre adversaires se sont transformés en attaques et interruptions systématiques entre ennemis. Cette fièvre est surtout portée par La France Insoumise et le Rassemblement National, bien que leurs trajectoires divergent, le RN adoptant progressivement une stratégie de normalisation.

Nous révélons le caractère totalement inédit de « ce monde où l’on catche ». Si le parlement a toujours eu un aspect théâtral, le public visé a changé : désormais, les députés s’expriment bien davantage pour leurs followers que pour les autres députés, avec tous les effets pervers des réseaux sociaux sur la polarisation des débats et la violence politique. Ce phénomène reflète une désinstitutionalisation profonde de l’Assemblée et interroge le caractère encore gouvernable de notre pays, y compris avec des réformes institutionnelles (par exemple la proportionnelle), tant que la fièvre des passions et les codes des réseaux sociaux écraseront toute culture du débat et du compromis.

Algan, Yann, Thomas Renault, and Hugo Subtil, La Fièvre parlementaire : ce monde où l’on catche !, Notes de l’Observatoire du bien-être (Cepremap, 13 January 2025), p. 16 <https://www.cepremap.fr/2025/01/note-de-lobservatoire-du-bien-etre-n2025-01-la-fievre-parlementaire>

Le Bien-être des Français, Décembre 2024

Après l’embellie de septembre, probablement liée aux Jeux Olympiques de Paris, le bien-être des Français a reculé au quatrième trimestre 2024, sous la double pression d’un retour des inquiétudes matérielles et de l’instabilité politique. Dans la plupart des domaines, il retrouve son niveau de l’année dernière, souvent proche de la moyenne depuis le début de notre enquête.

Bénéficiant d’un moindre recul, le sentiment des Français que ce qu’ils font a du sens résiste mieux, et reste à un niveau élevé. En revanche, les appréciations de l’avenir, individuel comme collectif, plongent à des niveaux faibles, sous l’influence du contexte politique.

Perona, Mathieu. 2025. « Le Bien-être des Français — Décembre 2024 ». 2025‑02. Notes de l’Observatoire du bien-être. Paris: Cepremap. https://www.cepremap.fr/2025/01/note-de-lobservatoire-du-bien-etre-n2025-02-le-bien-etre-des-francais-decembre-2024/.

Du bruit aux symphonies, état des lieux de la recherche sur l’effet du son sur le bien-être

Parce que nous sommes exposés en continu à une multitude de paysages sonores, l’effet du son sur le bien-être en général est difficile à identifier. Les recherches sont d’abord intéressées à l’impact de sources de bruit nettement identifiées et délimitées, comme les nuisances sonores aéroportuaires, révélant leur impact négatif, mais aussi l’importance de considérer l’exposition ressentie plutôt que l’exposition absolue à un niveau sonore donné. Ces recherches montrent ainsi que l’effet des sons est largement liée à leur contexte, tant objectif que subjectif.

Pour autant, l’effet négatif du niveau sonore général dans les environnements de travail – de l’école au bureau – est de mieux en mieux documenté, alors que les aménagements restent rares. D’un autre côté, la recherche met également en évidence les vertus d’un environnement sonore reposant – ce qui ne signifie pas silencieux : chants d’oiseaux ou son d’une fontaine peuvent constituer les éléments d’un environnement restauratif, quitte à couvrir d’autres bruits ambiants. La musique, quant à elle, montre de fortes vertus quand elle est pratiquée collectivement par des personnes avançant en âge – le bénéfice pour les enfants semblant être d’abord dans le fait de pratiquer une activité organisée.

Ce tour d’horizon de la recherche montre que les métriques de bien-être constituent un instrument-clef pour mettre en évidence l’effet, souvent diffus mais significatif du paysage sonore. Par conséquent, beaucoup reste à faire, les mesures de bien-être subjectif restant trop rarement collectées en parallèle des cartographies du paysage sonore.

Fréget, Louis, et Mathieu Perona. « Du bruit aux symphonies, état des lieux de la recherche sur l’effet du son sur le bien-être ». Notes de l’Observatoire du bien-être. Paris: Cepremap, 22 janvier 2025. https://www.cepremap.fr/2025/01/note-de-lobservatoire-du-bien-etre-n2025-03-du-bruit-aux-symphonies-etat-des-lieux-de-la-recherche-sur-leffet-du-son-sur-le-bien-etre/.

Des jeunes qui ont envie d’ailleurs, enquête sur le bien-être des lycéens avec Régions de France

Alors que les lycéennes et lycéens traversent un âge critique pour leur bien-être futur, et qu’il s’agit d’une génération qui a connu confinements et réformes, le bien-être de ces jeunes reste mal connu. Nous sommes par conséquent heureux d’avoir accompagné Régions de France dans une enquête unique au printemps dernier.

Les premiers résultats peignent une génération au bien-être émotionnel et à la confiance fragile, avec de forts écarts entre jeunes hommes et jeunes femmes. L’avenir collectif cristallise les inquiétudes, dans l’ombre d’une éco-anxiété fréquente et du sentiment que l’enseignement reçu les prépare insuffisamment à leur vie future.

Pour beaucoup, l’avenir individuel s’inscrit ailleurs, un tiers souhaitant vivre à l’étranger dans dix ans. Ceux et celles qui pensent rester en France se projettent volontiers vers un espace plus dense que celui habité actuellement : pas d’aspiration à un exode massif vers les villes, mais un mouvement continu d’un échelon à l’autre.

Cette première vague met ainsi en évidence un désir de mobilité qui se heurte en pratique à la crise générale du logement dans les centres urbains et à la faiblesse de l’offre de logements étudiants qui pourraient permettre de répondre à ce désir d’ailleurs, y compris au sein de son territoire d’origine.

Perona, Mathieu. « Des jeunes qui ont envie d’ailleurs, enquête sur le bien-être des lycéens avec Régions de France ». Notes de l’Observatoire du bien-être. Paris: Cepremap, 27 janvier 2025. https://www.cepremap.fr/2025/01/note-de-lobservatoire-du-bien-etre-n2025-04-des-jeunes-qui-ont-envie-dailleurs/.

Régions de France vous invite également à un webminaire de présentation des résultats le jeudi 13 mars à 14:00 : https://regions-france.org/bien-etre-des-lyceens-enquete-de-regions-de-france-observatoire-du-bien-etre/

Mal-être et état d’esprit des demandeurs d’emploi

Suite à la parution de notre contribution au baromètre Unédic, Joséphine et Mathieu ont enregistré pour l’Unédic un épisode du podcast Points de suspension en retraçant les principaux résultats.

« Le chômage rend-il toujours malheureux ? » Points de suspension. Paris: Unédic, 30 janvier 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4xsMf4Ior4.

Delassus, Joséphine, et Mathieu Perona. « Baromètre Unédic : focus sur l’état d’esprit des demandeurs d’emploi ». Baromètre Unédic. Paris: Unédic, 12 décembre 2024. https://www.unedic.org/publications/barometre-unedic-focus-sur-l-etat-d-esprit-des-demandeurs-d-emploi.

Sur le web

Ruut Veenhoven (1942-2024): The Secret of a Happy and Productive Life

Bergsma, A., A.B. Bakker, M. Burger, R. Biswas-Diener, A. Michalos, H. Kamilçelebi, M. Steeneveld, G. Brulé, et V. Møller. « Ruut Veenhoven (1942-2024): The Secret of a Happy and Productive Life ». Applied Research in Quality of Life, 22 janvier 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-024-10418-6.

Le temps des solitudes. Les fragilités relationnelles à l’épreuve des temporalités

Résumé : A la veille de la journée mondiale des solitudes (23 janvier), la Fondation de France publie la 14e édition de son étude annuelle sur les solitudes en France, menée en collaboration avec une équipe de recherche (Cerlis et Audencia) et le Crédoc. Cette édition confirme l’ampleur de la solitude dans le pays : en 2024, 12 % de Français se trouvent en situation d’isolement relationnel, à savoir qu’ils n’ont aucun réseau de sociabilité. Le sentiment de solitude quant à lui continue d’augmenter puisqu’il touche 1 personne sur 4 et ce chiffre atteint un pic notable chez les jeunes actifs âgés de 25 à 39 ans : plus d’1 sur 3 se sent particulièrement seul, soit deux fois plus que les 60-69 ans. Cette édition propose un focus qualitatif sur le temps des solitudes, pour mieux comprendre les liens entre périodes de la vie ou de l’année et isolement social.

Riffaut, H., Déssajan, S., Saurier, D., Hoibian, S. et Berhuet, S., 2025, Le temps des solitudes. Les fragilités relationnelles à l’épreuve des temporalités, Paris https://www.credoc.fr/publications/le-temps-des-solitudes-les-fragilites-relationnelles-a-lepreuve-des-temporalites-rapport.

Two paradoxes in women’s wellbeing

Abstract: We review the literature on the gender gap in wellbeing, identifying two key paradoxes. First, although women today report higher levels of life satisfaction and overall happiness than men, they experience worse outcomes in mental health and negative affect. Second, despite substantial advances in women’s social and economic status over the past 50 years, their wellbeing relative to men has declined. We explore the evidence supporting these paradoxes, considering potential explanations related to differential expectations, biology, and scale use. Using global data from 2006-2023 and long-term data from Europe and the US since the 1970s, we provide empirical illustrations. These findings reveal a diverse and seemingly inconsistent pattern of gender wellbeing gaps between countries, suggesting that the first paradox is not universally applicable. However, there is clear global evidence of a relative decline in women’s wellbeing, particularly in terms of negative affect.

Kaiser, C., N. Muggleton, E. Quispe-Torreblanca, and J.-E. De Neve, ‘Two Paradoxes in Women’s Wellbeing’, Science Advances, 2024 <https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0140825a-d938-4c48-b98a-5f0aa88b76b3> [accessed 7 January 2025]

Contextual variation in the effect of unemployment on subjective wellbeing in the United States

Abstract: Becoming unemployed is a disruptive event with negative consequences for psychological wellbeing. Yet, the harmful effect of unemployment might vary depending on the social context. The literature offers two opposing hypotheses about contextual variation: The economic strain approach suggests that becoming unemployed is more harmful during an economic downturn because of reduced employment opportunities and sources of support. In contrast, the social normativity approach suggests that unemployment is less harmful when unemployment is pervasive because of reduced stigma, shame, and guilt. We examine contextual variation in the effect of unemployment in the United States using longitudinal data and individual fixed effects models. We find a U-shaped pattern of contextual variation. The effect of unemployment on psychological wellbeing is smaller at very low and very high state unemployment rates and larger at moderate state unemployment rates. The decline in the harmful effect of unemployment as aggregate unemployment rises from moderate to high is consistent with the normativity hypothesis. While some variation exists across specifications, differences across aggregate levels of unemployment are significant in our preferred specifications. This pattern is similar across gender, suggesting that normative expectations about employment are relatively similar for men and women in the early 21st century. The impact of unemployment on subjective wellbeing depends on how prevalent and normative the experience of unemployment is in society.

Torche, Florencia, and Claire Daviss, ‘Contextual Variation in the Effect of Unemployment on Subjective Wellbeing in the United States’, Social Science Research, 126 (2025), p. 103126, doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.103126

Trends in Income and Well-Being Inequality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan

Abstract: Although the COVID-19 pandemic could have caused both monetary and non-monetary distributional changes, existing studies have only investigated its immediate monetary impacts. This study examines the pandemic’s medium-term impacts on income and well-being inequality using individual longitudinal data from the Japan Household Panel Survey. Gini coefficients and income mobility before and after the pandemic are calculated to analyze income inequality. Various well-being measures such as mental health and life satisfaction are used to analyze well-being inequality. The findings reveal no increase in income inequality. Progressive income growth ensured stable inequality throughout the pandemic. Conversely, on average, well-being worsened, and well-being inequality increased. Furthermore, we find an association between income and well-being inequality. The random-effects and fixed-effects models indicate that the well-being of the high-income group tended to improve, whereas that of the low-income group tended to deteriorate after the outbreak of the pandemic. Additionally, the causal mediation analysis shows that the adoption of remote work served as a factor for the increase in the well-being of people in the high-income group. Remote work became disproportionately prevalent during the pandemic, especially among people in the higher income group. This group experienced various benefits of remote work, which contributed to an improvement in their well-being and an increase in well-being inequality.

Ishii, Kayoko, and Isamu Yamamoto, ‘Trends in Income and Well-Being Inequality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan’, Social Indicators Research, 2024, doi:10.1007/s11205-024-03478-6

Well-Being Dimensions and Environmental Protection: The Role of Health, Life Satisfaction, and Financial Satisfaction

Abstract: This research examines the impact of individuals’ subjective well-being (SWB) on their likelihood of prioritizing environmental protection over economic growth. SWB is assessed through key indicators, including health status, life satisfaction, and financial satisfaction. The study utilizes data from the 7th wave of the World Values Survey (WVS), comprising 87,000 participants after accounting for missing observations. A binary logistic regression model is employed to analyze the dichotomous dependent variable. The analysis reveals that better health status increases the likelihood of prioritizing the environment. Financial satisfaction also positively influences environmental prioritization by reducing economic pressures, enabling support for sustainable policies. Similarly, life satisfaction enhances environmental prioritization, as content individuals focus on long-term collective goals, recognizing the importance of a healthy environment for well-being. These findings suggest that secure health, finances, and life satisfaction foster a broader perspective, encouraging pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors while balancing personal prosperity with societal benefits. The study highlights the role of well-being in promoting environmental stewardship and shaping sustainable development policies.

Shair, Waqas, Shaher Bano, Haleema Afzal, Rizwan ul Hassan, and Usman Bashir, ‘Well-Being Dimensions and Environmental Protection: The Role of Health, Life Satisfaction, and Financial Satisfaction’, Policy Journal of Social Science Review, 2.4 (2024), pp. 783–802 <https://journalofsocialsciencereview.com/index.php/PJSSR/article/view/81> [accessed 7 January 2025]

When the Burden Lifts: The Effect of School and Day Care Reopenings on Parents’ Life Satisfaction

Abstract: The availability of childcare services eases parents’ daily lives and research has shown that it positively affects well-being, especially for mothers. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted established childcare arrangements, with school and day care closures adding to parental burdens. Despite extensive discourse on the influence of these closures on parental well-being, few studies have empirically analysed the effects of the increase in childcare responsibilities associated with the closures on the well-being of parents. We seek to address this gap by examining the impact of school and day care reopenings on parental well-being. We expect that parents’ life satisfaction will increase when schools and day care facilities are reopened—and that this effect is particularly strong for mothers. Leveraging the variation in the time of reopenings across Germany’s federal states, we employ a difference-in-differences and a difference-in-difference-in-differences approach to assess changes in well-being. The research design accounts for state-level differences and potential confounding factors related to the pandemic. By using data from the German IAB-HOPP study, which offers timely measures of life satisfaction, we aim to quantify the effects of reopenings on parental well-being. Results show only a small and marginally positive effect of reopenings on average life satisfaction among parents. However, this is due to a strong and significant effect of reopenings on mothers’ life satisfaction and no significant effect for fathers. Our findings contribute to research on the division of unpaid labour and childcare and support the notion that public childcare provision is crucial, particularly for mothers’ life satisfaction.

Tobler, Lina, Bernhard Christoph, Lukas Fervers, and Marita Jacob, ‘When the Burden Lifts: The Effect of School and Day Care Reopenings on Parents’ Life Satisfaction’, Journal of Happiness Studies, 26.1 (2024), p. 4, doi:10.1007/s10902-024-00819-7

Corruption Exposure, Political Trust, and Immigrants

Abstract: Scholars and politicians have expressed concern that immigrants from countries with low levels of political trust transfer those attitudes to their destination countries. Using large-scale survey data covering 38 countries and exploiting origin-country variation across different cohorts and survey rounds, we show that, to the contrary, immigrants more exposed to institutional corruption before migrating exhibit higher levels of political trust in their new country. Higher trust is observed for national political institutions only and does not carry over to other supra-national institutions and individuals. We report evidence that higher levels of political trust among immigrants persist, leading to greater electoral participation and political engagement in the long run. The impact of home-country corruption on political trust in the destination country is further amplified by large differences in levels of income and democracy between home and host countries, which serve to highlight the contrast in the two settings. It is lessened by exposure to media, a source of information about institutional quality. Finally, our extensive analyses indicate that self-selection into host countries based on trust is highly unlikely and the results hold even when focusing only on forced migrants who were unlikely to have been subject to selection.

Aksoy, Cevat Giray, Barry Eichengreen, Anastasia Litina, Cem Özgüzel, et Chan Yu. 2024. « Corruption Exposure, Political Trust, and Immigrants ». Journal of Development Economics, décembre, 103440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2024.103440.

The Effect of Political Regime on the Association of Values with Subjective Well-Being

Abstract: Previous research has often demonstrated that liberal values and democratic regimes are associated with higher levels of subjective well-being (SWB). However, consistent results are only found at the country level, while at the individual level the relationship between values, democracy, and SWB is not as clear. This article analyzes recent data from 86 countries and shows that individual SWB depends on whether one’s values match the country’s predominant values and political system. In authoritarian countries, those with more conservative values tend to exhibit higher levels of SWB, reaching a level of happiness comparable to that of an average person in a typical democracy. Conversely, their liberal-minded compatriots often report significantly lower levels of SWB. In democracies, people with more liberal values tend to have higher SWB than do conservatives, although this difference is not as robust as in autocracies. This study emphasizes the importance of political context in the relationship between liberal values and SWB.

Ponarin, E., Afanasyeva, Y. The Effect of Political Regime on the Association of Values with Subjective Well-Being. J Happiness Stud 26, 9 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00841-9

A Reconsideration of the Relationship Between Town Size and Well-Being in Latin America

Abstract: In this study, we explore the relationship between town size and subjective well-being (SWB) in Latin America. We utilize data from the Latinobarómetro survey from 2005 to 2015, employing multilevel modeling to analyze individual responses to life satisfaction as an indicator of SWB. We refine the town size categories provided in the Latinobarómetro by cross-referencing the geographic information with the United Nations Demographic Yearbook, one of our main contributions, leaving us with more refined town size categories than previous research. Given previous theories, we also explore how education moderates the town size-SWB relationship. Our findings reveal that individuals in towns with populations between 10,000 and 500,000 report lower life satisfaction compared to those in smaller or larger towns. Controlling for national macroeconomic conditions reverses the positive association between SWB and living in a very large city. Furthermore, we find some support for the notion that highly-educated individuals are more satisfied than the low-educated in large cities. This study comprehensively underscores the importance of refining town size data and suggests avenues for future research to deepen collective understanding of the ‘geography of happiness’ in Latin America.

Jantsch, Antje, et Alan Piper. 2025. « A Reconsideration of the Relationship Between Town Size and Well-Being in Latin America ». Applied Research in Quality of Life, janvier. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-024-10408-8.

Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries

Abstract: Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.

Cologna, V., Mede, N.G., Berger, S. et al. Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries. Nat Hum Behav (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5

Did the COVID-19 pandemic change the importance of health for life satisfaction? Evidence from France

Abstract: COVID-19 has brought health protection to the top of the political agenda in many countries, at the cost of reduced freedoms, social relationships, and economic opportunities. This context may have led individuals to pay more attention to their health and to attach greater importance to it in life satisfaction. This paper examines the possibility of an increase in the correlation between life and health satisfaction after the onset of the pandemic using repeated cross-sectional data in France between 2016 and 2021 and an original jittering strategy to smooth the ordinal variables of life and health satisfaction in regression models of subjective well-being. The estimates show an increased correlation between health and life satisfaction for women aged 50 and over, but no change for men. However, the increase in correlation observed for older women disappears by the second half of 2021. These results are robust to several sensitivity analyses and lead to the conclusion that the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly and permanently change the importance of personal health for life satisfaction.

Tessier, Philippe, et François-Charles Wolff. « Did the COVID-19 pandemic change the importance of health for life satisfaction? Evidence from France ». Economics & Human Biology 56 (1 février 2025): 101468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2025.101468.

The relationship between income and subjective well-being: the case of Spain

Abstract: This paper examines the evolution of individual subjective well-being (SWB) in Spain from 2013 to 2022, with special focus on its relationship with income. Of the many driving forces of SWB that have been identified in the literature, income is one of the most controversial. We use a large sample of individuals to analyze how income and SWB interacted during the post-2008 crisis period. As expected, our findings show that income is positively related to SWB, but it is so at a decreasing rate. The time interaction with income reveals that the effect of income has diminished over time. We conclude that, as material conditions improved in Spain during the period under analysis, the relevance of income in determining SWB did not.

Cárcaba García, Ana Isabel, et Eduardo González Fidalgo. « The relationship between income and subjective well-being: the case of Spain ». Economics and Business Letters, 26 novembre 2024. https://doi.org/10.17811/ebl.13.4.2024.203-212.

Organic Farming and Happiness: A Path Analysis

Abstract: While price premiums incentivise farmers to engage in organic farming, these premiums are frequently insufficient to compensate for lower yields, resulting in no monetary benefits from adopting organic farming. This study goes beyond purely monetary outcomes and investigates how organic farming is related to both monetary and non-monetary outcomes, including farmers’ general life satisfaction or ‘happiness’. We use data collected from organic and conventional cotton growing households in Benin and employ Structural Equation Modelling in order to investigate the pathways through which organic farming is related to happiness. Our findings indicate that organic farming is positively associated with happiness through farmers’ improved (self-reported) health and increased satisfaction with their work as well as through a direct relationship between organic farming and happiness. While a negative association between organic farming and income exists, it only reduces the overall positive relationship between organic farming and happiness to a very limited extent. Thus, our results show that non-monetary outcomes may be important drivers of the adoption of sustainability standards as well as relevant measures of farmers’ welfare when evaluating policies and programmes.

Aïhounton, Ghislain B. D., et Arne Henningsen. « Organic Farming and Happiness: A Path Analysis ». IFRO Working Paper, IFRO Working Paper, décembre 2024. https://ideas.repec.org//p/foi/wpaper/2024_01.html.

Worse for Women, Bad for All: A 62-Nation Study Confirms and Extends Ambivalent Sexism Principles to Reveal Greater Social Dysfunction in Sexist Nations

Abstract: We retested core ambivalent sexism theory tenets and explored novel correlations with national outcomes in 62 nations. Replicating Glick et al., cross-national analyses supported (a) hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS) as cross-culturally recognizable, complementary ideologies associated with gender inequality; (b) women appearing to be influenced by, but also resisting men’s HS and embracing BS to counter men’s HS (outscoring men in some highly sexist nations). Novel cross-national comparisons showed (a) men’s HS and both genders’ BS correlated with fewer women in paid work, whereas only BS correlated with domestic labor inequity, (b) both HS and BS correlated with accepting intimate partner violence toward women. Finally, HS and BS correlated with generally dysfunctional national outcomes: antidemocratic tendencies, less productivity, more collective violence, and lower healthy lifespan for both genders. Results reinforce that BS harms women and suggest men also have a stake in reducing sexist ideologies.

« Worse for Women, Bad for All: A 62-Nation Study Confirms and Extends Ambivalent Sexism Principles to Reveal Greater Social Dysfunction in Sexist Nations – Magdalena Zawisza, Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka, Peter Glick, Michal Olech, Tomasz Besta, Paweł Jurek, Jurand Sobiecki, Deborah L. Best, Jennifer K. Bosson, Joseph A. Vandello, Saba Safdar, Anna Włodarczyk, Magdalena Żadkowska, 2025 ». Consulté le 28 janvier 2025. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19485506241302882.

Sustaining life satisfaction and worthwhileness in older age: the role of diversity of social and leisure activity engagement

Abstract: Adapting to health changes helps sustain wellbeing in later life. Life satisfaction and worthwhileness of life are both monitored by the UK government; worthwhileness is under-researched. Motivated by Selection, Optimisation and Compensation theory, we investigated whether greater diversity of social and leisure activity engagement mediates relationships between self-assessed health and both life satisfaction and worthwhileness. To inform policy and practice, we also investigated whether mediation effects varied between different sub-groups of older people, including young-old vs older-old; retirees vs non-retirees and more vs less physically active. Structural Equation Modelling on a large sample of England-resident adults aged 50+ (n = 9,395) found greater diversity of social and leisure activity engagement partially mediated the total effect of self-assessed health on life satisfaction and worthwhileness. Mediation was greater for worthwhileness than for life satisfaction and greatest for retirees. These results suggest that encouraging older people to engage with more diverse types of social and leisure activity should be considered when designing policies and programmes to increase older peoples’ wellbeing. These findings add to the relatively sparse literature on correlates of the Office for National Statistics’ worthwhileness measure of personal wellbeing.

Hancock, K. E., L. B. Sherar, et P. Downward. « Sustaining life satisfaction and worthwhileness in older age: the role of diversity of social and leisure activity engagement ». Leisure Studies 0, n^o 0: 1‑17. Consulté le 28 janvier 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2025.2451281.

The Happiness Revolution in Europe

Summary: There is now a Happiness Revolution to go along with the earlier Industrial and Demographic Revolutions. The Happiness Revolution is captured using people’s happiness scores, as reported in public surveys, whereas the earlier revolutions are reflected by economic production (such as GDP) and life expectancy. Increases in happiness are chiefly due to social-science welfare policies that alleviate people’s foremost concerns – those centering on family life, health, and jobs. This Element traces the course of the Happiness Revolution throughout Europe since the 1980s when comprehensive and comparable data on people’s happiness first become available. Which countries lead and which lag? How is happiness distributed – are the rich happier than the poor, men than women, old than young, native than foreign born, city than countryfolk? How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted happiness? These are among the questions addressed in this Element. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Easterlin, Richard Ainley, et Kelsey James O’Connor. « The Happiness Revolution in Europe ». Elements in Economics of European Integration. Consulté le 28 janvier 2025. https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/happiness-revolution-in-europe/3D454C1B35A7B654B7BC73056BEB0BAA.

The impact of participation in arts and cultural activities on personal wellbeing

Abstract: Using data from the 2016 and 2021 New Zealand General Social Surveys, this study investigates the impact of arts and cultural (AC) participation on personal wellbeing and quantifies in monetary terms the value of such participation to individuals. While it is not significantly associated with life satisfaction, we find that active AC participation (taking part) is associated with higher eudaimonic wellbeing (specifically, a greater sense of purpose), which may be a contributor to greater long-term wellbeing. We find that passive AC participation (observing or being audience) is associated with higher life satisfaction and higher short-term wellbeing, in the form of greater happiness and mental wellbeing. We show that an important pathway through which passive AC participation affects life satisfaction is via mental health, by increasing how often one feels calm and peaceful and reducing how often one feels downhearted and depressed. Using the Wellbeing Valuation approach, we estimate that on average people value passive AC participation at around 6-20% of their income, which is equivalent to $2,800-$9,300 per person per year at the median income level.

Benison, Thomas, Trinh Le, et Arthur Grimes. « The Impact of Participation in Arts and Cultural Activities on Personal Wellbeing ». Motu Working Paper. Wellington, New Zealand – Aotearoa: Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, novembre 2024. https://motu-www.motu.org.nz/wpapers/24_04.pdf.

From Crisis to Norm: Remote Work Trends and Employee Engagement Across Industries, Occupations, and Geography

Abstract: We use a survey of nearly 360,000 workers conducted from May 2020 through December 2023 to characterize shifts in remote work across time, industry, occupation, and geography, and examine the evolving relationship between remote work and employee engagement. We find remarkable stability in the incidence of remote work since mid-2021 with roughly one-half of workers reporting always working remotely or in a hybrid arrangement. While remote work arrangements across industries remain broad-based, at the occupation level, they are conspicuously concentrated in certain job classifications. Remote work continues to evolve across the U.S., with 13 (14) states experiencing reported increases (decreases) in remote work rates since 2022 with the most populous states experiencing remote working rates exceeding 40% of workers. Empirical evidence shows that while working remotely correlates with higher job satisfaction and lower intentions to quit, these correlations disappear when other workplace characteristics such as pay practices, human resources policies, and managerial relationships are considered. If remote work remains the norm, our results suggest it may not directly influence employee engagement—the workplace still matters.

Makridis, Christos A., et Jason Schloetzer. « From Crisis to Norm: Remote Work Trends and Employee Engagement Across Industries, Occupations, and Geography ». Working Paper. Working Paper Series. National Bureau of Economic Research, décembre 2024. https://doi.org/10.3386/w33315.