[mikepmalai]

I'd put money on most cleaners not having hobbies =) (Sorry couldn't help myself...I come from a family of very blue collar folks and it's a running joke that your hobby is sleep)

My main point is it's hard to break years of routine/habit. If someone has done the same thing for 20 years, I don't expect them to suddenly change. Even when change would bring greater happiness over the long-term, I'm not betting against the comfort of status quo.

[salemh]

You are probably on to something with the lack of "retirement" (US, business and academia). Also, the change may lead to less happiness, from breaking such a long-term "routine" (I would say "life").

[mikepmalai]

It seems like with enough time we become institutionalized to a certain way of life and will reshape our happiness to fit perfectly to that world.

Oddly, first time I saw the world this way was after watching Shawshank Redemption as a kid and seeing Brooks killing himself after he was freed. From that point on, a lot of the seemingly irrational decisions people make made a lot more sense to me.