People for Whom Time Is More Important Than Money Are Happier
Money can really buy happiness , but that doesn’t mean that money is everything. A recent study found that people who value time over money tend to be happier.
We told you about a 2010 study that found a link between happiness and pay . The study found that “as people earn more money, their happiness increases” until they hit a plateau of $ 75,000.
Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles and the Wharton School wanted to take a closer look at this and see how time affects results. They also wanted to see happiness through the lens of what people want, and not just through the lens of what they already have. conducted a series of experiments and surveys with more than 4400 subjects. They found that two-thirds of these subjects said they would prefer more money over more time. Here’s what they reported:
In various studies, we asked thousands of Americans if they would prefer more money or more time. While most people chose more money, choosing more time was associated with greater happiness – even given the existing levels of time and money available. Additional research and experimentation provides a better understanding of the underlying causes of choice and the causal direction of the effect.
As the Washington Post notes, the correlation-causality argument can be applied here. Perhaps people who want more time already have enough money. Reporter Christopher Ingram explains (emphasis added)
In other words, can happiness be the result not so much of time as of money?
I asked this question to Hal Hirschfeld of the University of California in Los Angeles, one of the leading authors of the study … it is said that even when they controlled the money already available at people, they observed the same effect: “Statistically controlling even at current the level of wealth, we show that choosing timing instead of money has a positive effect on happiness, not wealth, ”
As Hershfield points out, they cannot completely rule out the possibility, but they do take it into account in the study. Either way, it’s a good reminder that money can make you happy, but at the end of the day, it’s just a tool . There are more important things that affect your happiness.
People who choose time over money are happier | Socio-Psychological Science and Personality Science via The Washington Post