SYDNEY (Reuters) -
For men, bliss is often just a mouse-click away while quality time with
family is guaranteed to put a smile on women's faces, according to an
Australian study of what makes people happy.
The "Happiness Index" study, which polled more than 8,500
Australians aged 18-64 years, showed rest and relaxation were the most
enjoyable activities while physical exercise was least likely to make
people happy.
"Australians are made happy on a week-to-week basis, not by
possessions and achievements, but by entertaining experiences and by
meaningful interactions with others," said Karen Phillips, managing
director of The Leading Edge, the business consultancy that conducted
the survey over a week in August.
"This index gives insight into the way we tick, with the results
being useful to Australian businesses who want to better communicate
with their customers," she added.
Both men and women -- or 63 percent of overall respondents -- picked
relaxation as the activity that made them happiest, but that is where
the similarity between the sexes ends.
Just over half of men said happiness meant surfing the Internet,
playing online games or accessing social network sites such as
Facebook, compared with only 39 percent of women.
Fifty-five percent of women said having meals and spending time
together as a family made them happiest, compared to 45 percent of men.
Women are also more likely than men to have been made happy by their
pets.
More men than women, 48 percent versus 40 percent, found happiness
being intimate with another person while 38 percent of men, and only 28
percent of women, said drinking with friends brought them joy.
More women than men said reading a good book, eating comfort food or buying gifts made them happy.
But Phillips said the survey also debunked several gender
stereotypes, finding that shopping for new clothes and shoes made only
30 percent of women happy and that more men and women with children
cited sex and romance as making them happy than singles.
"It's important to not make assumptions but to do your research when
utilizing happiness drivers to improve your brand's performance," she
added.
(Writing by Miral Fahmy, editing by Jerry Norton)
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