April 2024

We don’t usually report global news, but this one caught our eye. Every year, Gallup asks people in countries around the world to rate their current life on a scale of 1 to 100. They also were asked to give yes/no answers to whether they experience three positive and three negative emotions. The results then are averaged over three years to create this World Happiness Report.

Every year since the survey began, the United States has ranked in the top 20–but not this year. Now it’s 23rd. Even more concerning, the rankings get worse the younger the respondents are. While Americans over 60 ranked 10th worldwide in happiness, U.S. citizens aged 30 and under ranked 62nd. 

Gallup also found that, in most parts of the world, happiness declines with age. In North America, Australia, and New Zealand, it’s the younger folks who are more pessimistic.

Another Gallup survey found Americans generally feel good about their personal lives, but just about every “very satisfied” score has fallen between 2019 and 2023.

The moral: Building material dealers can’t do anything about student loan debt, divisive politics, global warming, and fear over never being able to buy a house, but dealers can at least recognize that young people do have a lot of concerns that could affect their work. Coaching younger workers on the great opportunities they have to advance at your company in the future may help counteract these concerns.