Leadership, Management & Life in the Workplace
  • Blog
  • About John
  • Decoding the Workplace
  • Dr. Juran AIG Archival Project
  • Contact
  • Disclaimers

On Money and Happiness

12/28/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
The “pursuit of happiness" is embedded in the United States Declaration of Independence. How does one pursue happiness? Who is happy? In a previous blog I focused on the latter question and quoted Dave Meyer and Ed Diener: “Wealth  . . . is like health: Its absence can breed misery, yet having it is no guarantee of happiness” (p. 13). I have also blogged about research on ways to iincrease your happiness. 
 
What is the relationship between money and happiness? If you had more money, would you be happier? Researchers have studied these and related questions for years. What have we learned?
 
Boyce, Daly, Hounkpatin, and Wood published an interesting article on this subject in the April 2017 issue of Psychological Science. While the focus of their contribution was on clarifying previous research on spending and personality, their discussion included insights from multiple studies. Here are some highlights I gleaned from their article:
  • Studies indicate a weak relationship between happiness and money
  • A possible reason for the weak relationship is “because people do not spend their money wisely” (p. 544).
  • Money spent on experiences is more likely to increase happiness than money spent on possessions.
  • Money spent on other people is more likely to increase happiness than money spent on one’s self.
  • “Materialism is associated with less happiness” (p. 545).
  • “Attempting to spend one’s way to happiness would ‘buy’ so little well-being as to be largely irrelevant to people’s lives” (p. 545).
  • Situations where money affects well-being: poverty, indebtedness, losing income.
  • Strong predictors of happiness: relationships, stable employment, mental and physical health
  • People who tend to be moody and have negative feelings (neuroticism) tend to be less happy.
  • People who tend to be outgoing (extraversion) tend to be happier.

My take-aways:
 
1. Research on what makes us happy is important. Experiences over possessions. Relationships. Spending on others. I have had a wonderful Christmas season with friends and family. It was not about gifts received. It was about being with people dear to me and also doing for others.
 
2. The “pursuit of happiness” is a marvelous phrase. Who “pursues” happiness? Who just lets life unfold? There is an intentionality inherent to this phrase. And how we pursue happiness may change. We may find moments of wonder, joy, and yes happiness, even in dire circumstances.
 
3. How does this affect us in the workplace? I suggest two types of happiness. One is trait-happiness. Some people just tend to be happier. The other is state-happiness, the joy that is more temporary and situation-specific. As leaders and colleagues, we can affect state-happiness by how we interact with each other and support each other. And do not forget to celebrate small victories that are meaningful shared experiences.
 
Boyce, C. J., Daly, M., Hounkpatin, H. O., Wood, A. M. (2017). Money may buy happiness, but often so little that it doesn’t matter. Psychological Science, 28(4), 544-546.
 
Myers, D. G., & Diener, E. (1995). Who is happy? Psychological Science, 6 (1), 10-19.
 
My image, "Confederation Bridge at Sunset."
 
© John Ballard, PhD,  2017. All rights reserved.
 
Decoding the Workplace, BEST CAREER BOOK 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

0 Comments

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    RSS Feed