Well-being and sustainable living
Jane Henry
Open University
Above a certain minimum amount of income and/or capital, non-monetary factors such as relationships, social support, engaging work, control over one’s activities and a sense of meaning appear more central to a sense of well-being than increasing pecuniary advantage. This is fortunate in a world where sustainable development is now an imperative in the face of climate change, a steadily climbing population and limited resources. The study of well-being should help social scientists, policy makers and others move in a direction designed to enhance satisfaction levels and more sustainable modes of living. The recent lowering level of satisfaction at work and increasing rates of depression suggest social change is needed. However given temperament provides a good predictor of long-term levels of well-being, psychological factors are clearly important. There is evidence that different strategies are needed to effect an improvement in well-being in different people (Fordyce 1983, Henry 2006.)
Further reading
Henry, J. Positive psychology and the development of well-being, Chapter 1 in Well-being: individual, community and societal perspectives, J Haworth and G Hart Eds. Wiley (Forthcoming)
Boniwell, I. and Henry, J. (2007) Developing conceptions of well-being: advancing subjective, hedonic and eudamonic theories, Social Psychology Review, (forthcoming) ISSN 1369 7862.
Henry, J. (2006) Strategies for achieving well-being, Chapter 7 in M. Csikszentmihalyi and I.S Csikszentmihalyi, A Life Worth Living: Perspectives from Positive Psychology, Oxford University Press. March. 120-142. ISBN 13978 0195176797/0.
Henry, J (2006) Creativity, development and well-being, In Henry, J. Creative Management and Development, Sage 2006. ISBN 13 9781412922470/7
Henry, J. (2006) Effectiveness of ‘spiritual’ and ‘psychotherapeutic’ strategies: Experients perceptions of long-term benefit, Chapter 19 in M. G. Kwee, K.J. Gergen and F. Koshikawa, Horizons in Buddhist Psychology: Practice, Research and Theory, Taos, NM: Taos Institute Publications. May. 287-294. ISBN 0971231265.
Henry, J. (2006) Differing personal development challenge and appropriate self-help strategies for differing personality types, Chapter 6 in A. Delle-Fave, Dimensions of Well-being: Research and Intervention, Milan: Franco Angeli. May. 106-20. ISBN 884647362D
Henry, J. (2005) The healthy organisation, Chapter 25 in C.L. Cooper and A.G. Antoniou, Research Companion to Organizational Health Psychology, Edward Elgar Publishers, 382-393. March. ISBN 1843766248.
Henry, J. (2004) Positive and creative organisation, Chapter 17 in P A Linley and S Joseph, Positive Psychology in Practice, John Wiley, 69-86, August. ISBN 0471 45906 2
Henry, J. (2004) A comparison of strategies for achieving well-being in non-clinical populations, Ricerche di Psychologia, XXVII, 1, 135-158, September ISSN 0391 6061
Dr Jane Henry
Head, Centre for Human Resources and Change Management
Open University Business School
Walton Hall Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
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