According to a recent survey, the Swiss population is generally satisfied with their lives. But satisfaction levels are noticeably greater with regard to people’s private lives, compared to their professional ones. Some areas for concern are: healthcare, wars, climate change and a sustainable lifestyle.
The levels of satisfaction also differed between the various cantons and language areas of Switzerland and 6% of people surveyed overall, stated that they had trouble making ends meet financially. In this post, we look at various aspects of the survey to enable an overall view.
Background
Switzerland is a mountainous country, home to numerous lakes, villages and high mountains. For many, to live there would be a dream. A beautiful place with perfect nature and a thriving economy, where everyone lives happy lives and lives well. But is that the reality? Some recent indicators:
- The population of Switzerland is increasing rapidly and is predicted to surpass 9 million soon. This from approximately 6.4 million in 1985.
- Much of the population growth is being driven by Immigration as skilled foreign workers are recruited for Swiss based companies.
- This is leading to a squeeze on housing and some services in certain areas as well as causing some social challenges.
A recent survey published by gfs.berne, based on data collected in 2023, showed that:
- Only 18% of the population were not very satisfied
- The remaining 82% were either satisfied (34%), very satisfied (19%) or completely satisfied (8%)
Interestingly though, life satisfaction levels were higher with those older people surveyed (i.e. in many cases, the ones not working).
- 76% of those aged between 16-39 were moderately satisfied with life
- this number reached 83% for those surveyed aged between the ages of 40-64
- and 88% of people over 65 were moderately satisfied with life
With regards to geographic areas, people surveyed within Switzerland:
- In the German speaking part:
- are willing to forego a comfortable living standard in favour of helping the climate.
- place greatest trust with professionals, while distrust among religious leaders is high.
- have the highest proportion of people who describe themselves as being “non-Swiss”.
- are the most satisfied with their current relationship status.
2. In the French speaking part:
- people have the strongest view that there is an immediate need for action on climate change.
- most are in favour of not being allowed to say discriminatory things in public.
- think that expressing emotions only makes sense, if it does not cause injury or discomfort to others.
- are comparatively the most satisfied with their own relationship status.
3. In the Italian speaking part:
- people already renounce excessive heating of living spaces, the purchase of foreign food and driving for the benefit of the climate.
- admit that discrimination can be experienced due to language and appearance.
- the burden of personal financial circumstances is greater than in other areas of Switzerland.
- they most often describe themselves as being completely Swiss and that they more often assume, that their values are shared by most Swiss.
- most are in a romantic relationship and of the opinion that a fulfilled life requires the existence of children.
4. In the Romansch speaking part:
- those surveyed think that more research is needed for climate measures and that climate change is not man made.
- think they are most discriminated against on the basis of economic situation, appearance and language
- they trust their fellow citizens more, while the distrust of executive members, religious leaders and parliamentarians is high.
- are generally more dissatisfied with their relationship status, do not like to be alone, and many say that they have no one to turn to in an emergency situation.
Work Satisfaction
Finally and relating to work: on a scale of 0-10, where 0 equals “not being happy at all at work”, and 10 equals “being totally happy at work”, the following results were observed:
- only 37% of the total people surveyed rated their work satisfaction at 8 or above
- 36% of the people surveyed rated their work satisfaction between 5 and 7
- and 27% of those surveyed said they were not satisfied at all with their jobs
So, even in beautiful Switzerland, people are not completely happy! Some of the key areas that appear to be a cause for concern are areas such as climate change, war, discrimination and work amongst others. But given the low inflation and unemployment levels that are not a major concern for the majority of people in Switzerland with job vacancies for skilled workers are plentiful, it seems that Switzerland is still a pretty good place to live in! It was Winston Churchill who said, “I like your country very much. It’s the best on the continent”. And if it was good enough for him, it is good enough for us!
Swissroll GmbH was founded over 20 years ago. During this time our team of experts has worked with hundreds of companies and literally thousands of contractors. Beyond our core function of payroll management, we offer advice to contractors coming to work in Switzerland for the first time. This includes giving advice in French, German and English. Swissroll: “More than just payroll specialists” Contact us now on: enquiries@swissroll.ch
