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The Happiness Industry
Book

The Happiness Industry

How the Government and Big Business Sold Us Well-Being

Verso Books, 2016 Mehr


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Political economist William Davies, a lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, discusses the official obsession with happiness. Happy workers are more productive, but today’s workers aren’t happy. Their frequent absences and general apathy cost billions of dollars in lost productivity every year. Managers and policy makers respond with programs to boost happiness. They hire happiness consultants, create positions like “chief happiness officer” and monitor social media for spikes in sad words. In dispassionate prose spiced with moments of dry humor, Davies offers a detailed, dense and depressing look at the increasingly pervasive monitoring and manipulation of people’s moods. getAbstract suggests this contrarian view to managers, policy makers, entrepreneurs and those who prefer to determine for themselves how they feel – happy or not.

Take-Aways

  • The world’s economic policy elite sees happiness – and worker engagement – as central concerns.
  • Happy workers are more productive, but today’s workers aren’t happy.
  • Gallup estimates that worker unhappiness costs the United States more than $500 billion a year in lost tax revenues, lost productivity and health care expenses.

About the Author

Political economist William Davies is a senior lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he is co-director of the Political Economy Research Center. He has written for The Atlantic, The New York Times and The New Statesman.


Comment on this summary or Diskussion beginnen

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    A. A. 8 years ago
    Which is the world's happiest country - Denmark/ Switzerland or Bhutan?
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    J. G. 8 years ago
    This book makes me very happy.
    • Avatar
      7 years ago
      Would the abstract give a similar level of happiness?
    • Avatar
      7 years ago
      How far is the reality from the 'utopia' laid out in the books? That difference then is your playground that you have to mend to achieve your goals.