2006-2009
Promotor
Mark Elchardus
Collaborator
Wendy Smits
CONTRACT 1: More time, more money, more chances of promotion, ... The satisfaction of the Flemish people. A description, 1996-2006
Between 1996 and 2006, the yearly survey concerning Social and Cultural Changes in Flanders, registered the satisfaction of the respondents with a wide range of activities, environments and other aspects of daily life. Over the ten-year period, satisfaction and subjective well-being have shown little to no change. The highest levels of satisfaction are consistently recorded for the private sphere. The Flemish are almost unanimously satisfied with their homes and with the members of their family. While the satisfaction of the Flemish population as a whole is relatively high - about average when compared to other European populations - a number of areas of concern clearly emerge. There is less satisfaction with income than with many of the other aspects of life, and sizable proportions are dissatisfied with the work pressure to which they are subjected as well as with the lack of time and free time available to them. While in general, the Flemish are very satisfied with their job - about 90% expressing satisfaction with their "job in general" - there again high levels of dissatisfaction with some aspects of the job emerge. Opportunities to learn on the job and chances of promotion are deemed insufficient by many, only 58% of the respondents express satisfaction with the first, 43% with the latter.
People with advanced training often find themselves in a situation in which they are (very) satisfied with their income, but (very) dissatisfied with their lack of time; while people with low qualifications often find themselves in the opposite position, satisfied with their free time, but dissatisfied with their income. Of those two imbalanced, but systematically occurring situations, it is the latter - time riches and income poverty - that contributes most to unhappiness.
CONTRACT 2: Feelings of insecurity in Flanders 1998-2008
Feelings of insecurity are very high among the inhabitants of Flanders. A survey of young adults shows that a large majority of them is convinced that many kinds of risks and threats have increased over the past half-century. Particularly the risk of becoming a victim of crime and/or traffic is considered to have increased by an overwhelming majority. These risks are the focus of the feelings of insecurity measured and analyzed in this contribution. The analysis of the evolution of those feelings between 1998 and 2008 shows a statistically significant decline that more particularly occurred between 2001 and 2006. The available data make it possible to observe the decline, not to explain it. It should moreover be observed that despite this decline feelings of insecurity remained very high in 2008. The ageing of the population has most likely contributed to this situation, for old people feel more insecure than young ones. Over the past ten years, the relationship between age and feelings of insecurity did however change, at least among men. The decline of the feelings of insecurity is more pronounced among men over 55 than among younger men. This evolution is however modest and explains hardly the established decline of the feelings of insecurity between 2001 and 2006.
CONTRACT 3: A typology of societal involvement. Types of societal involvement and their consequences
This article maps different kinds of involvement in social life and studies its relationship to attitudes and subjective well-being. Cluster analyses on different forms of participation of the Flemish population, 18-75 years, reveal that one can distinguish six clusters of combinations of types of involvement. These turn out to be structured by age and education. There are three clusters or types of involvement one each for young adults, middle-agediddle aged persons and seniors. The clusters for each age group are further differentiated by education. Each age-specific cluster splits in two, one for the less, one for the more highly schooled. The types of involvement or the combinations of different forms of interaction and communication, do have an influence on societal trust as well as on personal well-being. The impact on societal trust is, however, much stronger than the impact on personal life satisfaction. People who limit their interactions to work, sport and/or television put less trust in institutions and other people. The kind of communication processes that come about through participation in voluntary associations and through cultural participation and the practice of amateur art and creative hobbies contribute to societal trust.
