Happy Families
Demos have partnered up with Relate to explore how happiness is experienced in every day family life. Happiness is rising up the political agenda, but the debate focuses on how to measure it - we want to get beyond that and explore the factors that impact on people daily and question whether the government is really best placed to improve peoples' happiness.
In his recent book ‘Happiness, Lessons from a new Science’ Richard Layard argues that although we are richer, healthier and have better homes, cars and food than ever before, we are no happier. This is apparently due to our obsession with social comparison, the hedonic treadmill and lack of work-life balance and family instability. But he does not explore individuals’ experiences. This begs the questions, what is happiness and how do people experience it day-to-day?
Demos have partnered up with Relate to start to explore how people experience happiness, and unpick some of the assumptions around wellbeing, through a new project exploring the relationship between love and happiness in everyday life. People express love in a practical sense through partnerships and parenting. Research suggests that people who are in long-term stable relationships are happier than singles. Although the narrative linking unhappiness and conflict in family life and reduced outcomes for children has been well researched, the converse story around the impact of stable, happy experiences is rarely told.
Through this project, Demos will challenge the stories and myths that we continue to tell about romantic love and family life that do not reflect how people express it day to day, and provide a more accurate understanding of what makes the current generation of family makers tick.
We are currently looking for project partners for this project - if you would like to be involved please contact Hannah Green at hannah.green@demos.co.uk