English Listening B1 Episode 29 - Track 04
Fill in the Blanks Exercise
TRACK 4
Host: ...Welcome back, you're listening to Pause for Thought with Brian Thompson. Today's subject is money, money, money, and in this next part of the show I'm going to be talking to Sonja Lyubomirsky, an experimental social psychologist who has been studying the causes of happiness for . It's wonderful to have you in the studio, Sonja.
Sonja Lyubomirsky: Thanks, Brian, it's a pleasure .
Host: Now, Sonja, let me ask you the obvious question first: what have you discovered in all ? What is it that makes people happy...could it be money?
SL: Well, Brian, not money exactly, but I'll get to that . Until a few years ago, if you had asked me what makes people happy, my answer would have been, "It's relationships, stupid." That is, I always responded that our personal relationships-the strength of our friendships, family, and other close connections-have the greatest .
So, I was very surprised when two other researchers and I conducted an analysis of . I wholly expected to discover that social relationships, more than anything else, would be both causes and consequences . However, what I found was something . There is something much more important than relationships-work.
Host: Work makes us happy? That is surprising. How?
SL: The evidence, for example, demonstrates that people who have jobs with independence and some variety and who show creativity and productivity are significantly than those who don't. And, of course, the income that a job provides is also associated . However, we all know that money has more of an impact when we don't have .
Host: Okay, so work at least some kinds of work-can make us happy. Why?
SL: Because work provides us a sense of identity, structure to our days, and important . Perhaps even more importantly, it provides us with close colleagues, friends, and even .
But that's not all. Studies reveal that the relationship between happiness and work . Not only do creativity and productivity at work make people happy, but happier people are . And they are less likely to take sick days, to quit, or .
The most persuasive data regarding the effects of happiness on positive work outcomes come from scientific studies that follow the same people over . These studies are great. For example, people who report that they are happy at age 18 have better jobs . And the happier a person is, the more likely she will get a job offer, keep her job, and get a new job if she . The same people who are happy at age 18 have more financial independence also.
Host: Could you tell us more about the financial side ?
SL: Well, not only does greater wealth make people somewhat happy, but happy people appear more likely to acquire in life. For example, research has demonstrated that the happier a person is at one point in his life, the higher income he will earn . In one of my favorite studies, researchers showed that those who were happy at age 21 had higher incomes 16 years later, when they !
But before we find yet another reason to wish we were very happy, consider what the research on happiness and work . The more successful we are at our jobs, the higher income we make, and the better work environment we have, the happier . This increased happiness will contribute to greater success, more money, and an improved work environment, which will lead to greater happiness, and .
Host: So what you're saying, Sonja, is that if we are happy, we are more likely to get a job we like, and if we have a job we like, we are likely to . I wonder if our listeners find that to be true in . Let's go to our first caller this evening, and find out: Joanna in Chicago. Joanna, welcome to Pause for Thought...
