Why Aren’t Americans Happier? When Work Isn’t a Fairytale…

The past 30 years have seen tremendous growth in the United States in productivity and wealth, and yet we don’t seem very appreciative for what we have. In fact, Americans’ assessment of their level of happiness is declining significantly, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. In 1957, 53 percent of Americans considered themselves “very happy.” By the early 1970s, only 34 percent expressed such satisfaction. Late in the 1990s, the number had dropped all the way down to 30 percent.

In 2005, the Economist Intelligence Unit released a quality of life index for 111 of the world’s countries. Although the United States is the second-richest country (in GDP per head), it has slipped to 13th in quality of life. What has gone wrong? Why aren’t Americans happier?

“Even though Americans tend to do well financially, many are unhappy in the workplace,” says Mette Norgaard, author of the international bestselling The Ugly Duckling Goes to Work: Wisdom for the Workplace from the Classic Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (Amacom, 2005). “If people are happy in the workplace, chances are they are happy overall. However, most of us feel trapped by mortgage, car, tuition, and credit card payments. We want a certain standard of living, and give up our freedom to pay for our way of life.” As the debt goes up, the courage goes down, and people worry more about fitting in than being happy. Norgaard has found a unique way to help us be more authentic and alive in our work, to find the workplace happiness we are all searching for.

For the first time ever, Norgaard has taken the stories of Hans Christian Andersen and applied them to the working world. She shows us how timeless stories can help us contemplate current dilemmas and make more thoughtful decisions. “There are plenty of self-improvement books out there, telling us how to do things,” says Norgaard. “But before we ask ‘how’ we must first think about why we do things. It’s important to raise questions about where we want to invest our time, our energy, and ultimately, our life.” That way we don’t try to have everything, and do everything, instead we aim for just the best thing.

For more information at http://www.mettenorgaard.com