Relational Goods and the Well-being of People Working in Italian Social Cooperatives

The paper investigates the role of relational goods in individual satisfaction with life. Individual data provided by the Italian Survey on Social Cooperatives (ICSI, 2007) are used in the econometric analysis, carried out on a sample of 4134 individuals working in Italian social cooperatives. The relationship between relational life and life satisfaction is characterized by problems of endogeneity and biunivocal causality. Therefore, the objective is not to establish causation, but rather to identify the association between life satisfaction and relational goods. Our results show that time spent on relationships within social enterprises with colleagues, superiors, volunteers, customers and outsiders (on-the-job relationships and relationships) is a key determinant of satisfaction with life.