OECD Conference on New Frontiers in Subjective Well-being Measurement, 4 March 2024, Paris, France

1. OECD New Frontiers in Subjective
Well-being Measurement
4th March 2024
Feeling what you do
in life is worthwhile

2. Overall, to what extent do you feel the
things you do in your life are worthwhile?

3. Pleasure and Purpose over time - American Time Use Survey
What We Expected from 2010 time use data

4. Do you feel the things you do are worthwhile?
In the UK, on average
people have a high sense
that the things that they
do are worthwhile,
answering
7.86 on a scale of 0 (not at
all)-10 (completely).
3.8% of adults in the UK
answered between 0 and
4 = around 2 million
people who have a low
sense of what they do is
worthwhile.
What matters for our sense of purpose? - What Works Wellbeing 2019-2020 Annual Population Survey

5. On average, people in their late 60s and early
70s have the highest sense of worthwhile and
the smallest proportion of people with low
worthwhile, this is consistent with where we
see satisfaction with life and happiness scores
at their highest.
Conversely, people over the age of 85 had the
lowest sense of worthwhile, with more than
7% with low scores, but young people aged 18
– 24 also had lower levels of worthwhile than
older adults
Low subjective wellbeing by age - all ONS4
Personal wellbeing trends by age cohort, Q2 2023

6. Doing our duty - worthwhile moved least since 2020
Average wellbeing scores across the quarters from 2018 to 2023.

7. Annual Population
Survey
Brown = worthwhile
Dashed Pre-pandemic
March 2019-2020
Solid mid pandemic April-
Sept 2020
Purpose mostly stayed high in 2020 less so for 18/19 years
Wellbeing and age: the triple dip

8. It does move but less volatile than affect
Percentage of
respondents
giving low to very
high wellbeing
scores across the
quarters from 2011
to 2023

9. Comparison with
Life Satisfaction

10. 1. Review of determinants of worthwhile
○ 27 studies including 8 evaluations
○ mostly x-section data
○ just getting going more than half from 2019 onwards
2.New Analysis UK Annual Population Survey 2019/20

11. Younger/ Older than 45/55
Female
White (ethnicity)
*Belonging to Religion
Non-Migrant
Live in Rural Area
Not Live in area of
Deprivation
High Neighbourhood
Satisfaction
Higher Feeling of Worthwhile *In good health
no disability/pain
no anxiety/depression
Eat fruit & veg
Some alcohol vs none
Sleep
Own Property
Higher income &
Expenditure
Not social rent
Married/Cohabit
People in Home
Children at home
Not lonely or isolated
With social support

12. Consistent but weaker
generally
*Religion stronger
Migration & ethnicity
variations
Consistent with life sat
Comparison with Life Satisfaction
Consistent with but
weaker than life sat
Alcohol - consistent
Income/expenditure
consistent but weaker
Anxiety higher private
renters
Married - weaker
*Children - stronger

13. Work where GDP is silent - the Purpose Sectors
Volunteering
Public service
Homemaking
Self employment
Studying
Job satisfaction

15. Having access to
green space =
life satisfaction
Using green space =
worthwhile
Having and Using Green Space
Centre for Aging Better Age Positive Image Library

16. What Works:
Purpose
Intervention Evaluations

17. We know the measures can MOVE and move differently
What works to improve wellbeing across different interventions

18. Carers: Can be increased even for people with high levels
Carers’ Music Fund - What Works Wellbeing

19. Wellbeing measurement in practice: 999 Club on asking the right questions
Are people telling us what
we want to hear to help us?
Integrates well with delivery
Single question success
indicator
Worthwhile as the measure of choice in evaluations
Centre for homelessness
impact image library

20. Discussion