INTRODUCTION

Work-Life Balance is a concept including proper prioritizing between “work," career and ambition, and “lifestyle," health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development/meditation (“Work-Life Balance,” 2010). As Work-Life Balance is stable and satisfied, people generally feel happier in their lives. For example, when eating with family members, hanging out with friends or sleeping more, one can balance between work and lifestyle. According to behavior scientist Dr. Andrew Oswald, the “Easterlin Paradox” indicates that growth in income is not correlated to growth in happiness; there is evidence that society is not becoming happier since there seems to have been a noticeable rise in work intensity and tiredness (Oswald, 2013). Having lived in Hong Kong and New York City, as well as in my country, Taiwan, I have noticed that people walk exceptionally fast on public transportation systems, such as subway or trains. They are indifferent to each other and are not willing to help people in need. I began to be curious about what cause them to be walking so fast? Are they going to work? Who are they meeting? What is so important for them to be walking so fast? Or has it become a habit to walk so fast?

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In 1999 a study was conducted to monitor the pace of life in 31 countries around the world, it indicated that the more vital a city’s economy, the faster its pace of life (Levine & Norenzayan, 1999). As a result, it is an urgency to work, meet or run to business or clients on time. Thus, it seems that the people living in big cities are restrained by the stereotype and established rules of—economics. 

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Thus, why does economy force people to work like robots doing tasks day and night? Although, capitalism can allow economic growth, increase real GDP per capita, and improvement overall living standards, it still cause a variety of defects such as, monopoly power of firm, wealth inequality, social benefit ignored, inequality of opportunity and even social division (Tejvan Pettinger, 2013). All these causes have made earning a living a requirement among the common people to satisfy their basic living standard in order for them to feel happiness. Therefore, most people are controlled by capitalism, forcing them to accelerate their pace of life in order to strike a balance under the inequality of wealth distribution among the rich of the world.

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However, as mentioned above, when pursuing GDP per capita, our happiness does not increase, instead, it has caused more dissatisfaction. According to the study of Pace of Life in 31 countries, the overall pace of life is positively correlated to the country's GDP especially in advanced countries indicated by walking speed, postal speed (work speed), and time accuracy (Levine & Norenzayan, 1999). That is, under fast pace of life, our stress levels has escalated resulting in tiredness, insomnia, lack of confidence and general unhappiness (Oswald, 2013).  In addition, people are at higher risk of coronary heart disease, CHD, because of lifestyles, such as, smoking or time urgency causing higher rates of death due to faster pace (Levine & Norenzayan, 1999). In fact, in some lower economic developing countries with low GDP per capita, such as, Latin America, Brazil and Venezuela, citizens have shown almost the same degree of satisfaction in happiness level compared to developed countries such as Japan and England (Angus Deaton, 2008). Hence, it is necessary to make aware of the fast pace lifestyle and its unfavorable consequences among countries with high GDP without rise of happiness.