Happiness (szczęście) can be measured in terms of life satisfaction (zadowolenie z życia), the presence of positive experiences and feelings, and the absence of negative experiences and feelings. Such measures, while subjective, are a useful complement to compare the quality of life across countries.

Life satisfaction measures how people evaluate their life as a whole rather than their current feelings. It captures a reflective assessment of which life circumstances and conditions are important for subjective well-being. When asked to rate their general satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10, Poles gave it a 5.6 grade!

There is little difference in life satisfaction levels between men and women across different countries. This is true in Poland, where men gave their life a 5.7 grade and women 5.5. Social status does, however, strongly influence subjective well-being. Whereas the bottom 20% of the Polish population have a life satisfaction level of 4.8, this score reaches 6.6 for the top 20%.

Happiness, or subjective well-being, is also defined as the presence of positive experiences and feelings, and/or the absence of negative experiences and feelings. In Poland, 68% of people reported having more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc).

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)