The article deals with the concept and distinctive features of an employment contract, which resulted in separating such a contract from hiring and other civil contracts in the Republic of Kazakhstan (personal performance by an employee of work on a certain qualification, specialty, profession or position, compliance with the rules of internal labor regulations, etc.). The civil law contract of paid services generates a civil, rather than a labour relationship, and the person to render services under this civil law contract (contractor) has no rights and guarantees provided for by the Labour code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (annual leave with the average income, the payment of benefits for temporary disability, the inclusion of these activities in employment records, etc.).

The relevance of scientific work in the field of studying the measurement of the happiness index in the countries of Central Asia is due to the fact that the assessment of the psychological state of society is a significant problem in the social sciences and humanities. The purpose of the study is to analyse the happiness index, the mechanism of its social measurement, which will be based on a comparative analysis of this indicator in Central Asian countries, in particular, on the example of such countries as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The key objectives and directions of this study can be achieved through the use of different methodological approaches, which can reveal both the theoretical and practical components of the research. Such methodological approaches include theoretical and methodological approach, dialectical methodological approach, method of deduction, method of induction, method of synthesis, method of logical analysis, and others. In the course of the research work social and psychological aspects of the concept of the "happiness index" were identified, an assessment of international indices that are designed to conduct sociological change in the index of happiness as a level of quality of life was provided, and a comparative analysis of sociological measurement of the happiness index in Central Asian countries, which was based on an analysis of this index in such countries as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan was conducted. The results of the study demonstrated that the quantitative assessment based on the index of happiness in the countries of Central Asia has a fairly low level of public satisfaction with the quality of life, therefore, an important aspect of the research work is also to identify the problems that impede this and to define the methods to solve them.