SINGAPORE: Singapore has been ranked as the most
emotionless society in the world, according to a Bloomberg News
report on a Gallup survey.
The survey polled more than 140 countries to compare
how people felt about their lives. Respondents were asked questions
such as "Evaluate your life on a scale of zero to 10" and whether
their life would be better or worse five years from
now.
Singapore came in ahead of countries such as
Georgia, Lithuania and Russia, for being the most emotionless
society.
"If you measure Singapore by the traditional indicators, they look
like one of the best-run countries in the world," Gallup partner
Jon Clifton was quoted by Bloomberg as saying. "But if you look at
everything that makes life worth living, they're not doing so
well."
According to the report, not many Singaporeans answered "yes" to
negative questions, and to questions measuring happiness, such as,
had they smiled yesterday, had they learnt something interesting or
felt respected or well-rested?
Only 36 per cent of Singaporeans responded affirmatively to either
the positive or negative questions.
According to Gallup's research, only 2 per cent of the country's
workers feel engaged by their jobs. The global average is 11 per
cent.
"We are taught to keep going and not make too much of a fuss,"
research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies Leong Chan-Hoong
told Bloomberg.
Singaporeans still "take ourselves a bit too seriously," said
general secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement William
Wan.
Other results from the survey showed that the Danes are the most
satisfied, while people from Togo in West Africa are least
satisfied, according to the news report. The most pessimistic
society is Greece, while people most likely last year to report
feelings of stress, anger, sadness, worry or pain were
Iraqis.
- TODAY/jc
