Does higher salary make you happier ?

Will a Bigger Salary Make You Happier? it is an article written By Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com that i read on msn today , actually the title caught my eyes as i was discussing it while i was saying that i am looking for a job and it sounds pretty importnat for me that the job gives me good experince and good pay as well.

here it is below :

In today’s consumer-driven society, it’s often assumed that bigger is better (the popularity of the Hummer as a city car is a prime example). So of course, many Americans may believe that the bigger the paycheck, the happier they will be. However recent research suggests that this just isn’t so.Are Rich People Happier?The latest buzz in the field of economics points to a myriad of studies examining the link between happiness and wealth. These studies all seek to answer the question: Are richer people happier? Prevailing research suggests no.Obviously if you’re living in poverty, more money probably will increase your level of happiness. But if you are at a good job that supports your lifestyle, would leaving it for a 20 percent salary increase at another company mean a 20 percent increase in your happiness?Not according to Richard Layard, director of the Centre on Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and author of Happiness: Lessons from a New Science. Layard cites research that implies that although the United States has experienced extensive economic growth since 1950, people today are no happier overall than they were in the 1950s. And this same theory holds true in other wealthy, developed nations, such as Japan and Britain.It Isn’t Easy Being Wealthy It makes sense. With added wealth often comes added stress and increased responsibility. There’s a reason surgeons and stockbrokers make a lot of money, because there is a lot riding on their performance and decisions. And usually the higher your rung on the corporate ladder, the longer your workday and the more stressful your position. So although we have become wealthier as a country, we have not necessarily become happier.Then there’s the slippery task of defining what “wealth” is. Like most things in life, wealth is a relative term. No matter how much money you make, if everyone around you makes a lot more, you won’t feel “wealthy.” So hanging hopes for true happiness on an extra zero on a paycheck could make obtaining happiness very elusive.
.in your life in other ways: take up a hobby, start your own business, or train for a marathon. You may find being richer doesn’t make you happy; rather, being truly happy makes your life richer


My Comment : is that it is true , some of my colleagues who were having high salaries , but quite stressed , especially women , were tired and stressed , and the way that made them to get out of this boring and stressful life was a hobby that they like for example writing poetry that they love ormaking jelwlery or what ever they feel they are into.

they told me something nice , that they feel that they need to do the things they want to do for their own enjyoment only and without any obligations.

My best friend also used to work in a place where she used to go at home by 9 and sometimes 10 , she used to love her work but actually she had suffered from so much instability in her home life , she was in dilema that she misses her family and she doesnt see them much.

Of course i am not encouraging that people wont be ambitious , no at all , i belive that we should go on and be ambitious , but to be content by what we have now , because maybe harder jobs can take from you your peace of mind, so till it happens enjoy what you have now.

Having slef content and Reda is one of the sources of happiness, as prophet Mohamed (PBUH) said in a hadith that means if some one woke up and he finds what he eats for his day and he is sleeping safely in his home and in a good health , then he does not need any thing else ( sorry i may not be properly translating it )