NEWS25 February 2011
UK— A new batch of questions asking people to rate their own wellbeing will be included in the Integrated Household Survey (IHS) from April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has decided.
The IHS interviews 200,000 people annually, meaning it will be the largest regular survey asking questions on subjective wellbeing in the UK.
ONS spokesman Stephen Hicks said initial results of the questions will be regarded as experimental, acknowledging that there are many different ways to measure people’s life satisfaction.
“There is more work to be done to check that the questions work and that they meet public policy and other needs, including international developments,” said Hicks.
Prime Minister David Cameron (pictured) is keen for the ONS to pursue a new way of assessing society’s progress beyond economic indicators like GDP.
The questions that will be put to IHS respondents are:
- Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?
- Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?
- Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?
- Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?
ONS says these questions will be supplemented with the Opinions Survey, a smaller survey of around 1,000 adults each month, which will be used for further testing and for questions about different aspects of wellbeing.
Meanwhile, the ONS says its national wellbeing debate continues both online and offline at events across the country.