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Introduction

Louise Dalingwater, Vanessa Boullet et Iside Costantini
p. 7-10

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1Wellbeing and quality of life have been the focus of many studies in the UK, particularly more recently with the introduction of wellbeing measures by the UK’s national statistics body (ONS) and several waves of surveys on the British population since 2011. These surveys analyse societal and personal wellbeing, focusing on areas such as health, relationships, education and skills and also the context in which people live and work. Similar initiatives have been taken across the rest of the British Isles. For instance, Northern Ireland published a new dashboard on wellbeing in 2023 while in the Republic of Ireland, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has developed and maintains a wellbeing information hub.

  • 1 Daniel Kahneman, Ed Diener and Norbert Schwarz (eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psych (...)
  • 2 Alan S. Waterman, “Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) (...)
  • 3 WHO, Quality of Life, n.d., https://www.who.int/tools/whoqol. Also see: Bruno Frey, Simon Lüchinger (...)

2The term wellbeing is however open to interpretation. Much of the literature links subjective wellbeing to the term happiness. The two are often very much interchangeable. Subjective wellbeing or indeed happiness can be said to refer to the notion of hedonism, i.e. the pursuit of pleasure.1 However, other researchers posit that wellbeing is not just interchangeable with happiness and underline the importance of eudaimonism as a central component of wellbeing; that is the development of human potential or fulfilment.2 Closely related to the concept of wellbeing is Quality of Life (QOL), which has been defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns”.3

  • 4 Finbar Brereton, J. Peter Clinch, and Susana Ferreira, “Happiness, geography and the environment”, (...)
  • 5 Mohamad Salim Alkodaymi, Osama Ali Omrani, Nader A. Fawzy, Bader Abou Shaar, Raghed Almamlouk, Muha (...)
  • 6 Lee-Anne Bye, Frank Muller and Florin Oprescu, “The impact of social capital on student wellbeing a (...)

3However, the focus on subjective and individual measures of wellbeing has been called into question as has the “building back better” mantra, especially since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rapid acceleration of climate change and geopolitical risks.4 The fallout from the Covid 19 pandemic has exposed weaknesses in the health and social care system of the UK.5 The National Health Service (NHS) is currently facing a backlog of care and chronic workforce shortages and is ill prepared to cope with new long term conditions such as Long Covid. Young people are also significantly at risk of experiencing lowered wellbeing following the disruption of education systems.6 Other socio-economic disparities relating to work, accommodation and regional decline are apparent within the localities of the UK and the British Isles.

4Moreover, climate change is currently impacting on wellbeing and quality of life and is set to create significant challenges for the future with the occurrence of extreme weather conditions which are becoming ever more frequent: floods, droughts, heat waves and other natural disasters are having negative impacts on wellbeing and quality of life. The sectors which are most impacted in the UK as elsewhere are agriculture, water, energy, tourism and transport.

5In light of these challenges, this special issue proposes to explore questions of wellbeing and quality of life in a holistic (but by no means exhaustive) manner within but also beyond the subjective wellbeing framework of national governments in the British Isles. In relation to the theme of wellbeing and quality of life, the eight contributions aim to shed light on a number of salient issues in the British Isles related to citizens’ wellbeing.

6First, Iside Costantini’s contribution analyses the question of online teaching and its impact on student wellbeing during and beyond the pandemic in the UK and Hong Kong. It draws on polls, reports and qualitative surveys and examines some of the transformations which were welcomed and have been adopted since by Higher Education institutions. In the same vein, Vanessa Boullet’s contribution looks at remote working across the island of Ireland. It considers the benefits and drawbacks of remote working and the impact on the quality of life of the Irish and Northern Irish. It also takes into consideration the specific situation of Irish and Northern-Irish cross-border workers.

7A number of contributions consider the question of wellbeing from a local perspective. Mark Bailoni analyses the challenges of the energy transition in the UK, insisting on the public policies relating to it (and their failure to take account the notion of well-being). His paper sheds light on public opposition to certain energy projects. Susan Ball considers the question of volunteering in local councils and the impact this can have on wellbeing. Contributing to the local community would seem to be vital in the wake of cuts to local government service provision but also puts extra pressure on these volunteers and can impact on their overall wellbeing. Stephanie Bory’s paper explores the recent law on the current and future wellbeing of the people of Wales. It examines its core principles which set the objective of designing a framework which upholds local values and aims to enhance the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of the people of Wales.

8While Nicholas Sowels’ contribution is not specifically focused on the regional dimension, the increase in poverty in some localities, and the impact on wellbeing and quality of life more generally, is explored in his paper. It looks at the relationship between inequality, poverty and wellbeing in recent years in the UK. It also includes analysis of the deterioration in “housing wellbeing”. Corinne Nativel and Louise Dalingwater’s contributions are more specifically related to vulnerable populations: those suffering from long term health conditions and women facing violence and domestic abuse. Louise Dalingwater analyses the impact of chronic diseases and health and wellbeing in England and in particular Long Covid. While the pandemic has come to an end, some people are still dealing with the aftermath of Covid 19, which affects their ability to live well. The wider societal impact of this disease on quality of life will thus be considered in the specific context of England. Corinne Nativel analyses the role of women’s centres in Britain which provide support to battered women to help them reconstruct their lives after violence. The volunteers in these centres are attuned to the needs of these women from both a physical and psychological perspective. Her article shows, as do many of the other contributions, the limits of current measures of wellbeing and central policy approaches, which do not include extreme forms of ill-being, such as violence towards women.

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Bibliographie

Alkodaymi Mohamed Salim, Ali Omrani Osama, Fawzy Nader A., Abou Shaar Bader Almamlouk Rahdar, Riaz Muhammed, Obeidat Mustafar, Obeidat,Yasin, Gerberi Dana, Taha Rand M., Kashour Zacharia, Kashour Tarek, Berbari Elie F., Alkattan Khaled and Tleyjeh Imad M. “Prevalence of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome symptoms at different follow-up periods: a systematic review and meta-analysis”, Clin Microbiol Infect, é8 (2002), pp. 657–66.

Argyle Michael, The Psychology of Happiness: Second edition, (Hove/East Sussex: Routledge, 2001).

Brereton Finbar, Clinch Peter and Ferreira Susana, “Happiness, geography and the environment”, Ecological Economics, 65(2) (2008), pp. 386–396.

Bye Lee-Anne, Muller Frank and Oprescu Floren, “The impact of social capital on student wellbeing and university life satisfaction: a semester-long repeated measures study”, Higher Education Research & Development, 39 (5) (2019), pp. 898-912.

Frey Bruno, Lüchinger Simon, and Stutzer Alois, “The Life Satisfaction Approach to Environmental Valuation”, Annual Review of Resource Economics 2 (2010) pp. 139–160.

Kahneman Daniel, Diener Ed and Schwarz Norbert (Eds.), Well-being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology, (Russell Sage Foundation, 1999).

Waterman Alan, S., “Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64 (1993), pp. 678–691.

WHO, “Quality of Life”, n.d., https://www.who.int/tools/whoqol.

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Notes

1 Daniel Kahneman, Ed Diener and Norbert Schwarz (eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology Russell Sage Foundation, 1999; Michael Argyle. The Psychology of Happiness, Second edition (Hove/East Sussex: Routledge, 2001).

2 Alan S. Waterman, “Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64 (1993), pp. 678–691.

3 WHO, Quality of Life, n.d., https://www.who.int/tools/whoqol. Also see: Bruno Frey, Simon Lüchinger, and Alois Stutzer, ‘The Life Satisfaction Approach to Environmental Valuation”, Annual Review of Resource Economics, 2 (2010), pp. 139–160.

4 Finbar Brereton, J. Peter Clinch, and Susana Ferreira, “Happiness, geography and the environment”, Ecological Economics, 65(2) (2008), pp. 386–396.

5 Mohamad Salim Alkodaymi, Osama Ali Omrani, Nader A. Fawzy, Bader Abou Shaar, Raghed Almamlouk, Muhammad Riaz, Mustafa Obeidat, Yasin Obeidat, Dana Gerberi, Rand M. Taha, Zakaria Kashour, Tarek Kashour, Elie F. Berbari, Khaled Alkattan, and Imad M. Tleyjeh, “Prevalence of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome symptoms at different follow-up periods: a systematic review and meta-analysis”, Clin Microbiol Infect, e8 (2022), pp. 657–66.

6 Lee-Anne Bye, Frank Muller and Florin Oprescu, “The impact of social capital on student wellbeing and university life satisfaction: a semester-long repeated measures study”, Higher Education Research & Development, 39 (5) (2019), pp. 898-912.

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Louise Dalingwater, Vanessa Boullet et Iside Costantini, « Introduction »Observatoire de la société britannique, 32 | -0001, 7-10.

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Louise Dalingwater, Vanessa Boullet et Iside Costantini, « Introduction »Observatoire de la société britannique [En ligne], 32 | 2024, mis en ligne le 31 décembre 2024, consulté le 11 mai 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/osb/6479 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/13byt

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Auteurs

Louise Dalingwater

Sorbonne Université, HDEA

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Vanessa Boullet

Université de Lorraine, IDEA

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Iside Costantini

Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, CREW

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