The Secret Equation Of Happiness

It’s a typical working day, you wake up at dawn, likely aided by an alarm clock app on a smartphone- the very device which may have kept you awake for the greater part of the night. After pressing the snooze button a couple of times, reality finally dawns on you that in the modern office the model employee is often the person who gets to work as early as possible and leaves as late as possible. You reluctantly get out of bed. After hurriedly getting ready, you leave most of your important sources of happiness – maybe a wife or husband (who most likely may be going through a similar ritual), kids, some of the most sophisticated entertainment gadgets money can buy and battle traffic to work.

I don’t have data on those who consider the workplace a rehearsal for hell or the reason to avoid that awful place, but if someone were to tell me that the people who despise their jobs run in the millions I wouldn’t doubt! Forget about the flashy suits and extensive make ups!

So, why do millions of people go through such ‘torture’ 5 times in a week (sometime 6) to rush to a place they would rather not be? Why do you go to work? Interestingly, the impression I get whenever I pose this question is that many people have not really pondered over their reason for working. To them it’s just part of the natural cycle; you complete school, you are fortunate to get a job, you get paid. Yes, their reason for working is so they can make some money. On the surface this sounds like a legitimate reason, but considering that money as a product itself is completely worthless, is it really the money they work for?

Money is merely a medium – which means we work for the things money allow us to acquire, based on our individual needs and preferences. Ultimately though, we spend the money we earn on those things (be it paying for a child’s education, paying bills, buying flowers for a loved one etc.) because we want to be happy. We can logically conclude then, that we work because we want to be happy right? Now watch this – if the main reason for working is so we can be happy, why do people spend the greater part of their lives in ‘unhappy jobs’ in order to be happy?

The key to unravelling this, is to understand the subtle distinction between ‘EARNINGS’ (E) and ‘INCOME’

By my definition, Earnings (E) is how much you get paid for working. Income is how much of those earnings remain after your spending. Proper analysis of this spending determines your GROSS PERSONAL HAPPINESS (GPH). The challenge for most people is their proclivity to evaluate their spending only in monetary terms [MS], even though happiness; the reason for their earnings, is impacted significantly by activities that cannot be measured in money terms. Let’s call this Non-monetary spending [NMS]. Expressed mathematically:

3050599. Personal Happiness [GPH] = Earning [E] – [Monetary Spending + Non-Monetary Spending] i.e. GPH= E – [MS+NMS]

Now, society will have you believe that the more you earn the greater your GPH. No bigger lie was ever told! Greater earnings merely increase your propensity for enhanced GPH. You work in order to be happy and earning more does not make you happier so long as your NMS still remains high.

To put it more clearly, let’s consider two employees:

Employee A is passionate about baking and has landed a job in the local bakery. It’s not a well-paying job but he is happier doing what he loves. Management of the company provide a friendly environment and colleagues look for the best in everyone. He gets to spend quality time with his family and friends.

Employee A’s happiness equation: E=10, MS=6, NMS= 1 GPH = 10- [6+1] = 3

Employee B has risen steadily on the corporate ladder of a multinational firm and earns a fat and enviably salary. The work is very demanding and competitive, and the workplace is not the kind of place one typically makes friends. His marriage is mostly like a scene in a Tom and Jerry cartoon and he is beginning to wonder whether alcohol is a better companion than his wife. He can’t understand what else she wants after providing her all the stuff money could buy.

Employee B’s happiness equation: E=100, MS= 80, NMS= 40 GPH=100 – [80+40] = -20

Now if B does not put monetary value on his NMS, he would be tempted into believing that his GPH is 20 when in reality it’s negative 20! This partly explains why the richest people are not necessarily the happiest. Sometimes, the price they pay for the extra earnings is far in excess of the value it gives.

My expectation is that this piece will enable you have a better understanding of your own happiness equation, so you can make the necessary changes in order to enhance your well-being. I’m not suggesting you quit your white collar job and become a baker though. Hopefully, progressive organizations who appreciate this important concept will put in incentives that go beyond the bonuses and occasional perks in order to enhance their gross organizational happiness as well.

Kwadwo Agyapong Antwi
The writer blogs on social and economic issues at www.thinkingWityou.wordpress.com