Happiest In The World
When I first came to Scandinavia, I was curious about what makes these countries the happiest in the world. It could hardly have been on account of the weather. The winters are a long haul of misery with sometimes as little as six hours of light - not sunlight but a weak diffused greyish idea of light. Summers offers much longer days but that often translates into a curtailed sleep, for the sharp sunlight penetrates through thick curtains, however hard you try to block it.
In my short work trips to Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway, I couldn’t fathom the cause of this happiness. Is it a pretense, I wondered? It was only after I moved to Scandinavia in 2009 that I began to peel layer after layer of what makes these societies happier than most. These are factors which are so interwoven in the social fabric that many a first-time visitor tends to miss noticing them - as did I.
One of the major contributors to this happiness factor is the work-life balance. Rarely have I seen my colleagues work over the weekends, or late on weekdays. Moreover, the concept of summer vacation, which in India seemed to me like a relic from the good old school days, is well alive and kicking here. Almost everyone takes anywhere between three to four weeks off in the peak of the summer months of July and August. The summer days are spent relaxing on the beach or walking the woods, but never too far from home.
The idea of travelling far off to another country during these vacations is a rarity. Instead, Scandinavians prefer to go to their summer house, which could be as close as within 20 kilometres of where they live. Again, I was surprised with this arrangement for I thought the idea of vacationing was always to travel to exotic locations and not retire to a wooden house with basic necessities. “Well, distance is irrelevant. It is important to disassociate from your daily environment completely and relax in entirety,” said a good friend Lars when I asked him about this arrangement.
Yet another important factor contributing to better work-life balance is the gender equality that’s a given in the society. The women do not have to shoulder the burden all alone. For instance, a new mother gets more than a year off in maternal leave. Six months of paternity leave by dads is also pretty common. Scandinavians are far more independent and do not necessarily have their parents come over for longer durations to take care of their newborns.
Apart from the work-life balance, another reason why Scandinavians thrive is the social structure that provides security. A case in point is the strong pension system that ensures that people don’t have to actively plan for their future but instead the government takes care of this need. The robust pension system is fueled by the taxes which are quite high - as much as 60% of the monthly income. However, the peace of mind that comes with it makes this tax pinch worth it. The taxes also fuel the healthcare system, which in turn ensures that everyone has access to basic healthcare for free. The whole idea of stepping into a hospital, getting a timely checkup and getting out without paying anything was bewildering at first. I couldn’t quite believe it at first. But then that’s the beauty of the Scandinavian model.
There are several factors that go into making a happy society. Size is another one. All these countries have small populations which makes the management of complex schemes (healthcare, pension) easy. Research has shown that people living in close harmony with nature are generally happier, and that’s another thing that’s true for Scandinavians.
The more years I spend in Scandinavia, the more I am learning about what’s making these societies happier than the rest. While the concept of happiness is subjective, I have come to learn that it’s much about security, fairness and long-term thinking. Finally, some of my initial bewilderment is melting away and after spending so many years here, I am perhaps also becoming a happier version of myself.
A version of this story was published in The Outlook Traveller
