Tax rates are the highest they’ve been in decades, people are retiring later, our bodies are in more pain, fertility rates have dropped, and we have less friends. That grim snapshot of Australian life comes from participants of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. “People from lower income households or without a Bachelor’s degree are more likely to report experiencing bodily pain. Not only did the report show that pain affected the work of the survey participants, but also that they were remaining in the workforce for longer. “Not only do we feel like we have fewer friends, we’re also socialising less frequently than in 2001,” Lass said.