In my last blog I discussed new research that showed that happiness can ‘rub-off’ on people. One of the biggest sources of happiness in that model of how positive feelings spread was happy neighbours – the study showed that when your neighbours become happy it increases the likelihood of you being happy by 34%. That’s more than the effect of a happy live-in partner (8%) and a happy sibling that lives close by (14%) combined. This got me wondering about the role of neighbour relations play in UK society and whether we aren’t missing out on an important source of well-being.
Of course, there is a great deal of luck involved because you can’t pick your neighbours and there is nothing much you can do if their behaviour negatively affects your life (e.g. noise, anti-social behaviour etc..). What I’m thinking about though are your average neighbours – the ones who you wouldn’t necessarily notice…..unless you made the effort… and it seems that most of us simply don’t bother. In November last year, Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent at The Telegraph reported the results of a survey of 4000 people by the home insurer ‘LV=’ which showed that Britons typically know 9 neighbours by name and only 14 by sight. The article claimed that this paints a bleak picture of community life in the UK and it’s hard to disagree! It seems that people are much more concerned about living a quiet, crime-free life (street crime and anti-social behaviour was a big concern across the board) than about the niceties of getting to know the neighbours which is probably seen as something of a luxury. This is understandable on the surface of things, but if we take a step back it’s possible to see how neighbour relations are connected with street crime because they provide its context and (as we know from the research reported in my last blog) they have the potential to generate feelings of happiness among residents.
As the report concludes, one of the big challenges is the level of mobility that we all have these days – families rarely put down roots for very long as the main wage earner often has to be flexible and live in different locations. This is very different from 25 years ago when families had much stronger relationships with those that they lived near. This aspect of modern life isn’t likely to change, but it means that more effort is required while people are in one place if relationships are to be formed. Yes, it does take effort, but the pay-off can be a greater feeling of safety and happiness for all involved. Ironically, another positive, supporting factor is the credit crunch which will almost certainly prevent some people from moving house because of the drop in property prices – this could add 2-3 years to some families’ tenures and increase the chances of ties being formed with those that live nearby.
So it seems that many of us use our houses to build a cocoon into which we can retreat and insulate ourselves from the world. Hardly the ideal platform for spreading happiness through our communities! Clearly, there are exceptions – for example, traditional villages or parishes may well see lots of neighbourly behaviour – but the majority of people live in cities these days and that’s where societal norms are formed.
More positive news came from a survey by The Halifax in November regarding the value that people place on neighbour relations. They examined the fledgling relationship between new neighbours in order to find out, with the time constraints of modern living, just how important our relationships with neighbours are to us. The findings showed that 42% believed it was ‘quite important’ to build new relationships with their neighbours, but this figure rose to 50% for the youngest age group (18-24). This bodes well for the future as you might have expected the young to be the most individualised group in society – it’s refreshing to see this desire to connect with others. The findings also showed that 44% of movers received a gift from their new neighbours – reflecting positive intent of established residents towards newcomers and again this is to be welcomed.
So it seems that we do still recognise the value of knowing our neighbours, but it’s not always a priority with all of the other pressures of life. However, it’s worth re-evaluating this assumption because developing strong relationships with our neighbours could actually ease the pressure on us, as they can become a valuable source of help, support and happiness which could ultimately lead to greater feelings of safety and security for your whole community. Sounds worth investing some time in to me – I’m just off to borrow a cup of sugar!
You can read the original reports referred to in this post at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/3521251/Britons-know-just-nine-neighbours-by-name.html
http://www.hbosplc.com/media/pressreleases/articles/halifax/2008-11-27-Knowingyo0.asp?section=Halifax
