Chapter Summary
People who are happy are generally and genuinely pleased with their lives. Research suggests that money predicts only about 2 percent to 5 percent of one's happiness. Gender, race, and age are also poor predictors of happiness, as are significant life events such as winning the lottery and crippling accidents. What does predict happiness? Self-esteem, relationships, faith, optimism and meaningful work.
Most people enjoy working because it fulfills basic human needs for identity (“I am a manager.”), belonging (we tend to work with others), competence (we tend to learn and stretch our skills when we work), predictability (we tend to have routines at work), and making a difference (sometimes we can use our work to make an impact ...
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