Single men and those over 55 are the happiest in Ireland, according to a report on men's lifestyles released yesterday.
The Mintel Ireland Men's Lifestyles report examined the attitudes of men to work, their family, their lifestyle choices and women.
It found that six out of 10 men in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are happy with their standard of living and that levels of happiness have increased overall from 2001 to 2004. However, they are still not as happy as women.
Men's careers remain extremely important as a means to assess their social status and value as a person, the report found, and they are still the key breadwinners within the family.
One in five men are willing to sacrifice time with their families in order to get ahead in the workplace. And those aged 25 to 34 feel most secure in their jobs.
Éamonn Finn, author of the report, said that men are more likely than women to suffer adverse effects from losing their job.
"Given all the changes that have and are taking place in the workplace, men's traditional attitude of self-worth linked to work still remains very strong," he said.
The average age of marriage is increasing year on year as men choose to stay single for longer, the report found, with the average man in Northern Ireland tying the knot at 32 and his Republic of Ireland counterpart holding out until 34.
There is also a growing trend for men to stay at home with their parents for longer.
Some 60 per cent of 20- to 25-year-olds in Northern Ireland and 65 per cent in the Republic live at home with their parents.
This is partly due to rising affluence among parents and factors such as personal freedom, the report said, as well as the cost of living and exorbitant house prices in general.
