Wanted: Happiness Boss - And $80,000 Is No Joke

2:27pm UK, Monday March 29, 2010

 

Mark Langford

Sky News Online

 

The job of bringing joy to the world is up for grabs as a newly-formed charity seeks a director of happiness.

 

The successful applicant to the Movement for Happiness must have a vision of society in which people are motivated by more than just money - although, to be on the safe side, the job is offering a far from miserable salary of $80,000 a year.

The movement has been formed by Lord Layard, of the London School of Economics, who became known as the Government's "happiness czar" for his work studying income and its effect on our well-being.

The other co-founders are Anthony Seldon, Master of Wellington College; and Geoff Mulgan, former head of policy at 10 Downing Street.

They believe that increases in material wealth in the West have failed to deliver a happier society.

"We hope it will become a mass movement, extending far beyond our borders, with members who are committed to trying to produce more happiness in all spheres of life," Lord Layard told The Times.

In an advertisement for the post of director (who will "need to have proven leadership ability") the founders said: "We hope this movement will help to shift our culture away from selfish materialism towards more rewarding forms of social engagement."

In the meantime, however, there is the prickly question of how much to pay the director.

Lord Layard has previously said bigger salaries do not necessarily lead to greater contentment.

Evidence from the United States, he said, had shown that increases in salary beyond $60,000 do not lead to significantly greater increases in happiness.

"We have got to be able to pay a proper salary," said Lord Layard.

"We would not be ruling out $80,000 for the right person. They would have to believe in the message - to change the culture away from feeling that your main job in life is what you can get, to what you can contribute - and have some sort of imaginative flair as well as organisational ability."

Lord Layard is a founder director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE and runs its Well-Being Project.

He argues there seven influential factors on our wellbeing: family relationships, financial situation, work, community and friends, health, personal freedom and personal values.

 

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