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A strong local economy and natural optimism means that almost nine out of 10 Australians are satisfied or very satisfied with their lives, according to the latest AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report: The Pursuit of Happiness.
Australia ranked behind only Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Canada among OECD countries. Financial security and the number of hours worked were strongly linked to satisfaction levels.
Overall, Australian workers are happy with their security, flexibility and the nature of their jobs but less satisfied with their working hours and pay, according to the report.
Among working Australians, those who worked part-time were more satisfied overall (35 per cent very satisfied) than those who worked full-time (27 per cent). People who were voluntarily not in the workforce were the most satisfied (40 per cent) while only 42 per cent of those actively seeking work were satisfied.
Levels of debt under $100,000 that were likely to be linked to less valuable assets such as car loans or credit card debt were more likely to lead to dissatisfaction than higher levels of debt, according to the report. This was possibly because those with higher levels of debt were more financially stable or paying off a secure asset such as a house, according to NATSEM author senior research fellow Rebecca Cassells.
AMP Financial Services managing director Craig Meller said: “As a nation we managed our way out of a recession well before our global peers, not only because of good economic management but also because of our optimistic outlook on life that has seen us through the tough times.”
Superannuation was a factor that was positively correlated with life satisfaction, Cassells said. Meller said this was because superannuation takes away peoples’ concerns about how they will support themselves in retirement. “That link to long-term savings is an important one and the fact that most Australians know to a certain extent because of the super guarantee they’ve got it sorted is a positive contributor,” he said.
