Latest news with #Jan-EmmanuelDeNeve
CNBC
5 days ago
- Health
- CNBC
Acts of kindness can make you happier and healthier, Happiness researchers say: 3 simple ways to give and reap the benefits
Among the many points for assessing happiness around the world, like sharing meals with others and family bonds, researchers for the 2025 World Happiness Report looked closely at acts of kindness. They discovered that the rate of benevolent acts was 10% higher in 2024 than between 2017 and 2019 almost everywhere in the world. They also found that the rate of helping strangers, specifically, is 18% higher than between 2017 and 2019. "People consistently and universally underestimate the kindness of others," says Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, editor of the report and director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. But the truth is, it happens more often than people realize. "In the United States, only 30% of people think the wallet will be returned when lost," says De Neve. "The reality is about 60% of wallets get returned when lost." And these acts improve everyone's wellbeing. Kindness is a "dynamic and a virtuous cycle," says De Neve, "in the sense that if you're being virtuous and helping others and being kind to others, that obviously helps the receiving party, but it also helps you." Researchers now have proof that three different kinds of giving can have this effect: "These things are very strongly correlated with improving one's own life satisfaction, one's own well-being," says De Neve. Even toddlers as young as two years old feel pleasure from giving to others, according to the report. In fact, just seeing someone else's generosity has a positive impact on wellbeing, researchers found. And if you're looking to implement these kind acts in your own life, there's virtually no limit to how frequently you should do so in terms of reaping the benefits. "The kinder you can be without hurting yourself, of course," says De Neve, the better. For managers looking for feel-good teambuilding activities, "allow company employees and teams to volunteer together for their chosen charities on company days," suggests De Neve. The wellbeing effects will be the same as those outside of the workplace.
CNBC
27-04-2025
- Health
- CNBC
Eating lunch and dinner with others brings an 'uptick in life satisfaction'—here's how many meals you should share each week
Sharing meals with others is a global tradition. In Senegal, out of 14 lunches and dinners per week, people share 11.7 meals, according to the 2025 World Happiness Report. In Sweden, people share 9.5 meals per week, in the U.S. people share 7.9 meals per week and in Japan, people share 3.7 meals per week. And it turns out the number of meals you eat with others has an effect on your overall wellbeing. In fact, "there's an optimal level of social eating," says Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, editor of the report and director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. Here's how much mealtime socializing to aim for per week and why it's so important. Senegal has the highest rate of social eating, but no country in the world hits the optimal level of shared meals, the World Happiness Report found. That's because "the optimal number is 13 out of 14," says De Neve, adding that as far as our overall wellbeing goes, "social elements of our lives are as important, if not more important, than the wealth and health aspects." Researchers found "there's a small uptick in life satisfaction around the world" with every additional lunch or dinner shared, he says. That dip after the 14th meal together does indicate the need for a bit of alone time but, overall, humans are social creatures in need of regular interaction. Researchers found that Americans eat 4.7 dinners together and 3.2 lunches together. That's a "54% increase in dining alone in the past two decades," De Neve says. The change could be happening over lunchtime, specifically. "My sense is that has to do with the workplace," he says, "where the norm is changing towards essentially eating by yourself or bringing your lunch behind your computer and continuing working." But that time with your colleagues is crucial. Beyond just the personal boost in wellbeing, it helps to build "a culture of belonging and caring for each other" in the workplace, says De Neve. When you're planning out your workday, make sure to pencil in that time with your coworkers — and it doesn't just have to be over lunch. "Social interactions around coffee or tea" work, too, he says.
New York Times
20-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Americans Are Unhappier Than Ever. Solo Dining May Be a Sign.
Americans are making too many solo dinner reservations. That was one takeaway from the annual World Happiness Report, which was released on Thursday and showed that the United States had dipped to its lowest slot in the country rankings — 24th — after being ranked as high as 11th in 2012, the first year of the report. Americans are increasingly miserable, the report says, and it explored a possible indicator: The number of Americans eating alone has risen exponentially this century. In 2023, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics's American Time Use Survey, about a quarter of Americans reported eating all of their meals alone the previous day, an increase of 53 percent since 2003. 'The extent to which you share meals is predictive of the social support you have, the pro-social behaviors you exhibit and the trust you have in others,' Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a University of Oxford professor and an author of the report, said in an interview. This trend is even more pronounced among young people. For American adults under 25, there has been an 80 percent increase in dining alone among Americans, numbers that Dr. De Neve called 'disconcerting.' The survey, which is compiled annually by a consortium of groups including the United Nations and Gallup, offers another data point in the so-called loneliness epidemic, which researchers and officials have said in recent years is becoming a bigger concern, particularly among young men as they spend more and more time on their phones. Eating alone increases political polarization as well, Dr. De Neve said. 'The fact that we're increasingly socially isolated means also that we're not testing our ideas about the world with other people,' he said. 'And the more you sit around the table with other people who might have somewhat different views, the more you start moderating your own views. And the increasing lack of social interaction and social isolation as a result, for a lot of people — amplified by echo chambers — makes people more radical.' The report also makes the case that declining happiness and social trust in the United States and parts of Europe has driven a series of 'anti-system' political victories, such as the election of President Trump, and a rise in political polarization. According to the study, the share of American people who trust others has declined by almost half since the 1970s, dropping to 30 percent from 50 percent. 'Far-left voters have a higher level of social trust, while right-wing populists have a very low level of social trust,' the report says. For the eighth year in a row, Finland took the top spot in the rankings. Of course, not everyone in Finland is happy with the survey, which essentially asks residents of countries to rate their own happiness. The study accounts for the last three years. On Thursday, during a panel discussion about the report in Washington, D.C., Leena-Kaisa Mikkola, Finland's ambassador to the United States, offered several theories for why the Finns have been so happy for so long. They included trust among fellow citizens and in the educational system, proximity to nature and 'weekly sauna sessions.' 'Our American friends, you smile and laugh much more than we do,' Ms. Mikkola said during the panel discussion. 'But happiness for us is maybe being content.' In an interview, Ms. Mikkola said Finland had other structural advantages over the United States, including its size. 'In a small country, there is also perhaps more of this awareness that we need each other,' she said. 'In a bigger country, you can somehow box yourself into different corners.' Costa Rica (No. 6) and Mexico (No. 10) entered the Top 10 for the first time, and other countries like Lithuania (16th, up from 19th) and Slovenia (19th, up from 21st) continued to move up in the rankings. During the panel discussion, Catalina Crespo Sancho, Costa Rica's ambassador to the United States, likened her country's population to sloths — in a good way. 'They're very slow, yes. But nobody wants to eat them,' Ms. Sancho said. 'They do not want to eat anyone or any of the other animals in the forest. They get along with everyone. All the animals get along with them. However, they get to where they need to get, even though it takes forever to cross a road.' But as far as the United States is concerned, Ms. Mikkola remained optimistic: 'I haven't met an unpleasant person during my six months here.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Americans under 30 are so miserable that the U.S. just fell to a historic low ranking in the annual World Happiness Report
The United States has a happiness problem. In the World Happiness Report's annual ranking of the happiest countries, the U.S. dropped to no.24, its lowest position in the list's 13-year history. Last year, the U.S. dropped out of the top 20 for the first time. The list is compiled from analysis of how a representative sample of residents from over 140 countries rate their quality of life. 'That gradual decline in well-being in the United States is, if you start digging into it, especially driven by people that are below 30,' Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, professor of economics at the University of Oxford, leader of the Wellbeing Research Center and editor of The World Happiness Report, tells Fortune. 'Life satisfaction of young people in the U.S. has declined.' If you were only to assess those below 30, the U.S. wouldn't even rank in the top 60 happiest countries, the report finds. It's the same reason for the U.S.'s dramatic drop last year from no.15 to no.23. But the continuous decline is concerning, researchers note. 'It is really disheartening to see this, and it links perfectly with the fact that it's the well-being of youth in America that's off a cliff, which is driving the drop in the rankings to a large extent,' De Neve says. The U.S.'s ranking is also explained by larger inequality compared to the Nordic countries, like Finland (no.1), Denmark (no.2), and Iceland (no.3). 'In these Nordic Scandinavian countries, a rising tide lifts all boats, so the levels of economic inequality are much less, and that reflects in well-being as well,' De Neve says. 'In Finland, most people will rate [their happiness] as seven or an eight, whereas if you look at the distribution of well-being in the States, there's a lot of 10s out there, but there's a lot of ones as well.' The report focused more this year on the strength of a country's social support and how much people trust in others—a key predictor of personal well-being. In 2023, nearly one in five young adults in the U.S. said they had no one they could count on for support. And in the U.S., the number of people dining alone has increased by 53% since 2003 (the number of shared meals across a week was a new data point in this year's report that correlated to positive well-being, according to De Neve). 'You see an extraordinary increase in dining alone over the past two decades in the U.S.,' he says, which exacerbates people's distrust in others and in society. 'It's the fact that people are increasingly on their own, isolated, their political thinking, their theories around life and society, are no longer tested by others … In our echo chambers, we develop these notions that others are to be distrusted, and we mistrust others, and migrants eat cats and dogs, all that kind of stuff. And as a result, we start believing these things. And the way we've picked up on that is really acute.' The researchers say they were able to pick up on the distrust by asking whether or not people believed someone would return a lost wallet. Compared to the Nordic countries, people in the U.S. were more likely to underestimate the kindness of others. 'It requires that strangers are to be trusted, that they will go beyond the call of duty and be kind and try and get it back to the rightful owner, or drop it with the police, which means you need to trust the police,' De Neve says. 'That single item of the wallet drop is very powerful.' For more on happiness: Researchers have followed over 700 people since 1938 to find the keys to happiness. Here's what they discovered Americans are proof that money can't buy happiness, new report shows You can learn to be happier. This class can teach you how in just 1 week This story was originally featured on
Vox
20-03-2025
- General
- Vox
Americans' increasing antisocial habits, explained in one chart
The finding, released this week, relies on data from the American Time Use Survey and shows that in 2023 about one in four Americans ate all of their meals alone the previous day, an increase of 53 percent since 2003. The analysis also found that eating meals solo, including at home or out at a restaurant, has become more common in all age groups, but most pronounced among those under 35. 'The extent to which one shares meals,' says Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a professor of economics and behavioral science at the University of Oxford and co-editor of the World Happiness Report, 'is an extraordinary proxy for measuring people's social connections and their social capital. It underpins people's social support. It drives prosocial behaviors, and all of that, in turn, leads it to be a very strong indicator — predictor — for people's life satisfaction.' Economic factors, like high income and employment status, are often used as indicators of happiness. But researchers found the ritual of sharing meals to be an even more effective indicator of general well-being than job status and salary. 'That surprised us as a research team,' De Neve says. The most obvious driver of solo dining is the rise of solo living. The share of single-person households in the US has steadily increased since the 1940s, when just under 8 percent of homes were occupied by one individual. By 2020, that number had grown to 27 percent. But even those who cohabitate choose to eat their meals alone. In 2023, about 18 percent of Americans who lived with others ate all of their meals alone the day prior, the report found, compared to 12 percent in 2003 — a 50 percent increase. Vox Culture Culture reflects society. Get our best explainers on everything from money to entertainment to what everyone is talking about online. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Because more young people under 35 are dining alone — a 180 percent increase over the last two decades — De Neve suspects the trend is reflective of changing norms: College students choosing to scroll social media on their phones while in the dining hall or young adults opting out of lunch with their colleagues. As social media and smartphones became more entrenched in the 2010s, the less often people shared meals with others. (De Neve has no explanation for the spike in solo dining in 2011.) Research shows that those who eat with others are happier, more satisfied with life, more trusting, have more friends, and are more engaged in their communities. The finding also points to increasingly individualistic habits. Solitary pursuits branded as 'self-care' may have led to increased isolation. The top reason cited by those who considered eating alone in restaurants in 2024 was to get more 'me time,' according to consumer research polling from OpenTable and Kayak. The rise of solo dining has implications beyond the table. Research shows that those who eat with others are happier, more satisfied with life, more trusting, have more friends, and are more engaged in their communities. Increased social isolation meanwhile can lead to feelings of loneliness, which, in turn, can lead to cardiovascular health risks and increased feelings of depression, risk, and anxiety. On a broader scale, loneliness and solitary tendencies breed distrust, which has profound consequences for the state of civil society. The simple act of sharing a meal with a colleague or friend can help bridge divides and increase well-being.
