1st Edition

Happiness and Wellbeing in Singapore Beyond Economic Prosperity

    194 Pages 34 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    To present a multifaceted and holistic perspective of what makes Singaporeans happy, Tambyah, Tan and Yuen discuss the findings and insights from the 2022 Quality of Life Survey, which examines the perceptions and views of 1,905 Singapore citizens. This is the latest survey in a series of studies on the wellbeing of Singaporeans.

    While the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on wellbeing is a timely discussion, the findings are also compared with previous surveys conducted in 2011 and 2016 to provide a longitudinal perspective of how Singaporeans’ wellbeing has evolved over the years. Key aspects of this topic include life satisfaction and satisfaction with specific life domains, aspects of affective wellbeing (e.g., happiness, enjoyment and achievement), economic wellbeing, psychological flourishing, personal values, value orientations and views on socio- political issues. Pertinent differences due to demographics such as gender, marital status, age, education and household income are also highlighted. The book also features four archetypes and clusters of Singaporeans, which are representative of the unique demographics, values and wellbeing outcomes examined.

    The findings and insights will be useful to academics, policy makers, practitioners, students and the general public who are interested in understanding the life satisfaction and wellbeing of Singaporeans.

    The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

    Contents

    List of figures

    List of tables

    Acknowledgements

    Chapter 1 - Introduction, Context, and Research Methodology

    Chapter 2 - A Holistic Perspective of Wellbeing: Satisfaction with Life and Life Domains

    Chapter 3 - A Holistic Perspective of Wellbeing: Affective Aspects and Psychological Flourishing

    Chapter 4 - The Income-Happiness Equation for Singaporeans

    Chapter 5 - Values and their Influence on Singaporeans’ Wellbeing

    Chapter 6 - Clustering of Singaporeans

    Chapter 7 - Rights, Politics, and the Impact on Wellbeing

    Chapter 8 - The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Wellbeing of Singaporeans

    Chapter 9 - Conclusion

    Index

    Biography

    Siok Kuan Tambyah is an associate professor at the NUS Business School, National University of Singapore (NUS). Her research and teaching interests include consumption and identity, consumer culture, happiness and pedagogical research on residential colleges. She has published extensively, with her most recent publication being Student Growth and Development in New Higher Education Learning Spaces; Student-Centred Learning in Singapore.

    Tan Soo Jiuan is an honorary fellow at the NUS Business School. She has published in leading international journals, and coauthored several books: Understanding Singaporeans: Values, Lifestyles, Aspirations and Consumption Behaviors, Happiness and Wellbeing: The Singaporean Experience, Happiness, Wellbeing and Society: What Matters for Singaporeans, and Competing for Markets: Growth Strategies for SMEs.

    Yuen Wei Lun is a PhD student at the NUS Business School. He is particularly interested in exploring the psychological factors that influence human decision- making, with an emphasis on promoting sustainability, consumer wellbeing, and responsible consumption. As a budding researcher, his research has been published in the Journal of Personality.