What are Singaporeans most unhappy with? Personal savings.

ChannelNews Asia reported that in “The Happiness Report,” a study conducted by global communications firm, Grey Group, almost 50% of the respondents cite a “lack of sufficient savings” as a source of unhappiness in the last six months. This was closely followed by “personal expenditure.” The other three areas are confidence in the economy, job satisfaction, and work-life balance.

credit to Asia One

Singaporeans’ unhappiness, inferred from the study, stems from money-related, or job-related issues. Are Singaporeans spending more and saving less now? What does this mean in an era of increased consumption as new malls sprout up along Orchard Road, encouraging the pursuit of material things and instant gratification perhaps at the expense of lasting and meaningful “happiness”?

From ChannelNews Asia:

The study also discovered that baby boomers (45-49 years old) were the happiest people with an overall net happiness score of 11.4 per cent, 4.6 percentage points higher than the young adult segment (18-29 years old).

It also found that men were happier than women at the workplace, with 46.08 per cent of men found to be happy at their jobs as compared to 37.75 per cent for women.

Shirley Ang, an account manager, said: “In schools these days, it’s very competitive, so everyone’s competing with each other, challenging each other.

“Back during the days of baby boomers and all, it was probably an easier life in a way. Hard in terms of earning money, but easier in terms of (the amount of) stress they are feeling from society.”