Methodology
How we measure
Happiness Impact
A science-based framework combining contemporary wellbeing research with large-scale consumer surveys — producing transparent, reliable and internationally comparable measures of how organizations affect people's happiness and wellbeing.
What do we measure?
Lived experience, not self-assessment
Happiness Impact measures how people perceive an organization's contribution to their happiness and wellbeing.
Rather than focusing on organizational intentions or self-reported achievements, Happiness Impact measures people's lived experiences.
Our ambition is simple: to measure one of the most important, yet least understood, dimensions of organizational performance.
The central question
To what extent does this organization contribute to people's happiness and wellbeing?
A multidimensional framework
Four dimensions of wellbeing
Happiness and wellbeing cannot be captured by a single question. Happiness Impact therefore combines four complementary dimensions:
A better life
Does this organization contribute to helping people live a better life?
Happiness
Does it contribute to pleasant, joyful and satisfying experiences?
Meaning
Does it contribute to a sense of purpose, direction and coherence?
A rich life
Does it contribute to interesting, stimulating and personally enriching experiences?
Your own wellbeing
Each dimension is measured for its contribution to your own happiness and wellbeing.
Other people's wellbeing
And again for its contribution to other people's happiness and wellbeing.
Eight indicators
Together these eight indicators form the Happiness Impact framework.
Representative by design
Grounded in lived experience
Happiness Impact is built on large-scale, nationally representative consumer surveys.
Participants evaluate organizations they have personal experience of, ensuring that assessments are grounded in lived experience rather than organizational self-reporting or expert opinion.
Each national study is designed to include a sufficiently large and nationally representative sample to generate reliable Happiness Impact scores for every organization included in the study.
Which organizations are included?
Organizations that shape everyday life
Each national Happiness Impact study includes organizations that play an important role in people's everyday lives.
The selection focuses on organizations with broad public reach and substantial potential to influence people's happiness and wellbeing through the products, services and experiences they provide.
The specific organizations included vary between countries, reflecting national markets while maintaining a consistent methodological framework.
From responses to Happiness Impact
One score, many insights
Responses across the eight indicators are combined into an overall Happiness Impact measure using established statistical methods — capturing organizations' overall contribution to happiness and wellbeing while preserving the richness of its different dimensions.
The science behind Happiness Impact
Happiness Impact builds on several decades of international research on happiness, wellbeing and quality of life, integrating four complementary perspectives:
International framework
One methodology, many countries
Happiness Impact is designed from the outset as an internationally scalable measurement framework. All national studies follow the same underlying methodology, enabling meaningful comparisons across countries while allowing careful cultural and linguistic adaptation. As the international research initiative grows, the framework will continue to evolve while maintaining scientific consistency across studies.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
Is Happiness Impact the same as customer satisfaction?
No. Customer satisfaction measures how customers evaluate products or services.
Happiness Impact measures how organizations contribute to people's happiness and wellbeing.
Is Happiness Impact an ESG measure?
No. Happiness Impact complements ESG and other established measures.
It focuses on a different question: how does this organization affect people's lives?
Can an organization have a negative Happiness Impact?
Yes. Happiness Impact does not assume that organizations have positive effects.
Some organizations make a strongly positive contribution. Some make little difference. Some may have unintended negative effects. The purpose of the framework is to measure these differences.
Will the methodology evolve?
Yes. As scientific knowledge develops and the international research initiative expands, the framework will continue to evolve while maintaining comparability across countries and over time.
Additional methodological documentation, survey instruments and technical reports will be published as the international research initiative develops.
The one question
“What is its Happiness Impact?”
Meaningful questions deserve trustworthy answers.
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