What is it about Scandinavia and its immediate neighbours?
Why, in almost every survey do they seem to be getting so much right so often?
It can't all just be down to the sweltering saunas and substantial snow can it?
Now, the Netherlands, who are in my mind at least a cross between us and your bone a fido Scandos, are at it too. Holland consistently tops lists of the happiest places on earth and according to a new report there's one big reason why - they go to work a bit less.
While that doesn't feel like rocket science if it was you can be rest assured it'd be part time rocket science if it was the Dutch way.
Over 50% of the population of the Netherlands work part time, in comparison with an average of 20% of working-age people in EU member states breaking down to 8.7% of men and 32.2% of women.
In Holland though, 26.8% of men and 76.6% of women work less than 36 hours per week.
And where does the UK rank? Well just slightly over 10 per cent of men work part time in the UK and 40 per cent of women - an enormous difference.
Behind the stats there's Dutch law stating that women have the right to cut back hours at their jobs without repercussions from employers and Daddy Days where men are legally allowed unpaid days off work to look after their offspring.
By lifting the weight of trying to juggle it all, the Dutch it seems are managing to create more relaxed parents and therefore more relaxed kids.
What's more the Netherlands also topped a poll of 28 European countries when it comes to taking physical exercise with the majority of the population getting active four days per week - with part time work making it possible.
Going Dutch for a nation like ours wouldn't be straight forward, or cheap of course, but it wouldn't be impossible either - and the benefits to health and happiness are there for all to see in survey after survey.
The future could well be orange.
