37.9 Australien Australia Psychologists tell us that helping others can make us healthier, more stress-resistant and even longer-living. But measuring such behavior in fig ures is difficult. Dedication to others is often unquantifiable and exists in the shadows: lending a neighbor a hand, pitching in at a soup kitchen, giving time to a sports club. Surveys reveal that four in ten people in the USA do things to help others, but in Germany the figure is only around a quarter. That’s enough to be talking about a culture of volunteering, but a long way from a mass phenomenon. Which is a shame, as helping others can work a bit like a boomerang: if you give, you will often get something back. Let’s be honest, buying stuff can be fun and there is a feel-good aspect to treating yourself. But a very different commodity is non-negotiable for a good life: purpose and meaning. Here is something that money cannot buy, but that we can make for ourselves – by helping people, being there for one another, dedicating ourselves to good causes.
30.3 Österreich Austria
15 Weltweiter Durchschnitt Global average
34.1 Schweiz
41.9 USA USA
Switzerland
38.1 Kanada Canada
41.5 Neuseeland New Zealand
10.4 Polen Poland
When did you last help someone?
76 Das gute Leben ∙ Freiwilligenarbeit
77 The good life ∙ Voluntary work
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