Why are people in Luxembourg happy? An exploratory study of happiness and culture measured by the dimension of a language as identifier in the Grand Duchy

The purpose of this study is to explain Luxembourg people's high scores on the measure of happiness by looking into the relationship between happiness and culture, as measured by the command of a language. More specifically, Hofstede's dimensions of culture, 'Individualism/Collectivism', 'Power Distance', 'Masculinity/Femininity', 'Uncertainty Avoidance', 'Long-Term Orientation/Short-Term Orientation', 'Indulgence versus Restraint' and 'Monumentalism', as well as 'Happiness', (Diener & Lucas, 2000) are measured and calculated by obtaining responses from 134 employees who work at Lindab Buildings in Luxembourg, France and Germany. No significant differences were found between Hofstede's estimates for the dimensions of culture in Luxembourg and his scores for Germany, and the current study's results for Lindab in Luxembourg and Germany. Differences were found between Hofstede's and Lindab results for France and for Luxembourgers who command the Luxembourgish language, indicating that language is an identifier of culture. Pearson Correlations were calculated, where Happiness was found to be related to Indulgence and to Long-Term Orientation. Discussion, implications, limitations, and future research suggestions follow.