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Buying time, instead of material goods, increases happiness: Study
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The results from the tests and interviews by the researchers found causality from the reduction of time stress by using money to obtain it and increased happiness. (Shutterstock/File)
A
curious situation has been created by the rising income earned by people across many countries. According to a report, people experience stress over the daily demands placed on their time, creating an increasing sense of time scarcity.
This situation led psychologists from the United States, Netherlands and Canada to study the possible solution of using money to alleviate the lack of time. One of the researchers, Dr. Elizabeth W. Dunn of the University of British Columbia, states that people who spend money to buy more time for themselves have greater life satisfaction.
“Money can in fact buy time, and it buys time pretty effectively,” says the psychology professor. Working with fellow researchers from Harvard Business School, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Maastritch University; Dunn states that their work could provide an escape route from the “second shift” of household chores.
Read also: Being generous may make you happier
As reported by the BBC, the research involved questioning 6,000 US, Dutch and Canadian citizens, including 800 millionaires. They found that less than a third of them spent money to buy themselves time each month, and those who did reported greater life satisfaction than those who didn’t.
The study was then continued with 60 working adults in Vancouver, Canada, where they had to pay to save time in one weekend. Examples included purchasing cleaning services, paying neighborhood children to do chores and paying for lunch to be delivered to work. On the other weekend, the participants were told to spend the windfall on material goods. The results from the tests and interviews by the researchers found causality from the reduction of time stress by using money to obtain it and increased happiness.
For her take home message, Dunn advised that we should identify an activity or activities we do not care for. After that, find out if we can pay someone else to do them, because if so she states that science says it’s a good use of money. (dan/kes)
