SCOTT BEVAN: On the international indexes of happiness, Australia always scores well, near the top of the table.
But what is it that makes us such a happy nation?
Researchers from Deakin University think they have the answer.
They've conducted almost 30 surveys over 12 years to produce the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index.
Leader of the team, Professor Robert Cummins, says the research has identified the three essential keys to happiness.
He's speaking here with Rachel Carbonell.
ROBERT CUMMINS: The results, at the end, compress down to a very simple formula for people to think about in terms of maintaining their normal levels of happiness, and we call this the golden triangle.
The corners of the triangle are three. There is relationships, there is of course money, and the third is something that engages people, something that gets them out of bed in the morning and gets them excited about the day to come.
RACHEL CARBONELL: And what are the minimum requirements in each of those three areas for somebody to feel happy?
ROBERT CUMMINS: The relationships one is the strongest of the three corners and, in that, people need a single intimate relationship. It doesn't need to be a sexual relationship, but it needs to be emotionally intimate, somebody who can share the good times and the bad times, somebody who cares for you enough to look after you.
As with all of these three areas, more is not better. So, having more than one intimate relationship doesn't seem to be any better. In fact, in many ways it's not as good as having a single one.
But, having that relationship is incredibly important and people who lack an intimate relationship are at much higher risk of the difficulties in life overwhelming them and causing them to lose their normal levels of positivity.
RACHEL CARBONELL: The second factor in that golden triangle, as you call it, is money. It's often said that money can't buy you happiness, so what have your survey results told you in relation to money and happiness?
ROBERT CUMMINS: Yes, it's an interesting phrase, that, and anybody who's been poor would know that money, indeed, does buy happiness. And, what we find is that it does and that happiness increases up to a ceiling and this ceiling is set by us nationally, so it's a real average across Australia and of course doesn't apply to particular populations, like people living on the North Shore of Sydney, or that sort of thing.
But, on a general average basis, there is a ceiling of about $100,000 gross household income per year, and once households reach that level, increasing the level of money beyond that really doesn't do anything for their level of happiness at all.
And so, below that level, then it can put them at risk, but above that level it doesn't do anything, and this is kind of interesting, because we don't really have an off button built into us to stop us from continuously wanting to earn more and more money.
We just think that more is better and $200,000 is going to be better than $100,000 and, in fact, that doesn't apply.
RACHEL CARBONELL: So, money can buy you happiness, but only to a point. You don't need to be very rich in order to experience the happiness that money can offer?
ROBERT CUMMINS: Indeed so, and that's where the other points of the triangle come in, because just having loads of money really doesn't do it for happiness. That's one of the areas that we're discussing, but there are two others and we've spoken about the relationships. The other corner, which is terribly important, is having something important in your life to get on with.
Now, this gives people a sense of responsibility, a sense of purpose in their life and it doesn't really matter what this is. It might be caring for a family or for a disabled family member. It may be having a regular job at work, or being key in some volunteer capacity.
It really doesn't matter, as long as it engages people and, at best, it is an activity which involves other people. So it allows people to maintain and expand their social connections, because a part from the intimate relationship, then having other social connections is also very good in terms of wellbeing.
SCOTT BEVAN: Happiness keys holder Professor Robert Cummins from Deakin University, speaking with Rachel Carbonell there.
And, you can find the audio of the full interview on our website at www.abc.net.au/worldtoday.
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