Does Happiness Lead to Success? Part 5

Does Happiness Precede success?

Work Life

Employment and Quality of Work
If you have high subjective wellbeing and are seeking work you are more likely to get a second interview.
The amount of positive affectivity you have at the end of adolescence predicts financial independence, occupational attainment, work autonomy, meaning and variety in young adulthood. It is worth noting however that positive job characteristics increase positive affect suggesting a bidirectional influence.

Happy people are less likely to lose their jobs, and more likely to be reemployed if they do. They are more likely to be rated positively by their superiors.

Income
Higher levels of income are positively correlated with happiness levels over longer periods of time and high subjective well being leads to later prosperity.

Social Relationships

Friendship, Social support and Marriage
Those with high levels of happiness are able to draw on others to help, or befriend them.

Happiness leads to marriage as is supported in a number of longitudinal studies. Happier people are more likely to get married. Individual happiness bolsters marital well being and happier people are more likely to remarry after divorce.

Self esteem predicts increases in closeness and importance of social relationships and decreases in insecurity and conflict within those relationships.

Why do Happier people get larger Social Rewards?

The social rewards of happiness cannot be over stated – strong social bonds and social support further increase positive emotions and enhance social acceptance, health and emotional adjustment.

People are more likely to want to become friends with and want to provide emotional and tangible assistance to individuals with a positive outlook.

Longevity of marriages is predicted by the ratio of positive verses negative interactions.

Genuine smiles and laughter signal that one is friendly and open to social interaction. It is an invitation to engage with the happy person and fosters ongoing attachments.

Mental Health
Those with high subjective well being are less likely to report being depressed, have lower work disability and there is a negative association with suicide. Positive affect buffers the relationship between negative affect and substance use. Positive optimistic attribution styles are associated with less mental health problems, poor adjustment and alcoholism 10 years later.

Physical Health
Happiness is related to better health outcomes over a 5 year period. As a happy person you will likely have less health problems, less days lost due to illness and hospitalisations and there is a lower incidence of strokes, especially in men.

Optimism is associated with less cardiovascular disease, less heart attacks and angina 10 years later.

The happier you are the more likely you are to have a quicker recovery from surgery if you require it. You also have a decreased risk of upper respiratory tract infection.

Longevity and survival
Well being is associated with less likelihood of dying by certain causes. It is negatively related to dying in automobile accidents.

Life dissatisfaction is related to fatal unintentional injuries as well as intentional ones.

Overall negative emotions reduces survival times.

However happier people are more likely to survive longer after severe illnesses eg renal failure and breast cancer. Happier people with spinal cord injuries are likely to have greater satisfaction with their lives and survive longer.

Happiness therefore seems to be related to a variety of life outcomes that relate to survival (stable relationships, lower accident and suicide rates, superior coping and less stress. People with positive self perceptions live on average 7.5 years longer than those who don’t.

The evidence also supports an increased likelihood of longevity if you are a happy person.