Men Happiest Online, Women Prefer Family Time: Poll

SYDNEY (Reuters) -For men, bliss is often just a mouse-click away while quality time withfamily is guaranteed to put a smile on women’s faces, according to anAustralian study of what makes people happy.

The "Happiness Index" study, which polled more than 8,500Australians aged 18-64 years, showed rest and relaxation were the mostenjoyable activities while physical exercise was least likely to makepeople happy.

"Australians are made happy on a week-to-week basis, not bypossessions and achievements, but by entertaining experiences and bymeaningful interactions with others," said Karen Phillips, managingdirector of The Leading Edge, the business consultancy that conductedthe survey over a week in August.

"This index gives insight into the way we tick, with the resultsbeing useful to Australian businesses who want to better communicatewith their customers," she added.

Both men and women — or 63 percent of overall respondents — pickedrelaxation as the activity that made them happiest, but that is wherethe 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 asFacebook, compared with only 39 percent of women.

Fifty-five percent of women said having meals and spending timetogether 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 theirpets.

More men than women, 48 percent versus 40 percent, found happinessbeing intimate with another person while 38 percent of men, and only 28percent 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 genderstereotypes, finding that shopping for new clothes and shoes made only30 percent of women happy and that more men and women with childrencited sex and romance as making them happy than singles.

"It’s important to not make assumptions but to do your research whenutilizing happiness drivers to improve your brand’s performance," sheadded.

(Writing by Miral Fahmy, editing by Jerry Norton)