PRESS RELEASE: First Direct
Written: Tuesday 13th April, 2010
SMILES HAPPIER
Women are generally happier in life than men, a study found yesterday (Mon).
Research revealed women typically experience a higher level of satisfaction thanks to the area in which they live, their quality of life and a balance between work and leisure time.
More than one in three women ranked their general happiness as eight out of ten or higher, compared to just over one in four men.
The study also revealed the happiest women are those who are married - or retired.
While 40 per cent of married females said they were happy, 45 per cent of retired women expressed the same level of happiness.
Forty per cent of women over 55 ranked their happiness highly.
Yesterday Natalie Cowen of First Direct bank, which commissioned the study of 4,423 adults, said: ''It is evident that gender difference plays a huge part in how satisfied we are with various life aspects.
''Some of today's little life pleasures are helping women love life at the moment, such as watching their favourite television show, music and their pets.
''Of the things in life that women would like to improve, financial aspirations such as trying to obtain a also ranked highly. Men also placed importance on such financial improvements.''
Of the men who were polled 37 per cent said they were less than completely satisfied with their love life, compared to 45 per cent of women.
Men were also less satisfied with their home and neighbourhood (36 per cent) than women (45 per cent) were.
The study found 43 per cent of women were satisfied with their area they live in.
More than one in three women were happy with the quality of their leisure time, while 35 per cent said they felt they had enough free time to enjoy themselves.
And one in four said they were happy at work.
But despite their happiness nine out of ten women said there were aspects of life they felt they could improve on, the study found.
Losing weight came top of the list (32 per cent) followed by improving their overall health (physical and mental, 29 per cent).
Karen Pine, Professor of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire and author of Sheconomics, commented on the findings: ''Modern life is complicated for everybody, and the finding that women are happier than men reflects how they deal with what life throws at them in different ways.
''Women have better coping strategies than men. For example, they are more likely to go to their GP if life gets them down. They are also better at getting connected to people and seeking support from family and friends.
''Being more optimistic and less competitive, women are better able to restore themselves to a happy state.''
Research conducted by global market research company www.onepoll.com
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