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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Meaningful Work — Not Money — Makes People Happy

Social scientists think they've discovered a formula for happiness, writes Arthur C. Brooks in the New York Times, and making lots of money is not a part of it.

Decades of research have boiled human happiness down to just three factors: genes, events, and values. About half of how happy you feel is hardwired into your genetic make up, according to the article. Meanwhile, one-off events like getting married or landing a big promotion can contribute up to 40% of your happiness, but tend to offer just a temporary boost that lasts a few months.

Brooks says the remaining 12% of factors that govern how happy you feel are faith, family, community, and work. Because of the social connection and meaning they tend to create, the first three are likely not too shocking. However, the idea that working may be a significant contributor to your happiness and wellbeing is more surprising. After all, it's something that many people spend their entire lives aspiring to retire from.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Must be a PRMC theory.
They plan to charge the workers a parking fee to work there.I guess they should be happy to pay to work instead of working to get payed.

that place is becoming a real joke.
wonder if higher ups will have to pay.

Anonymous said...

I laugh at these studies. Speak for yourself not for me. Really no matter how meaningful my work is I'm stressing if I cant cover the cost of daily living. Stress does not make me happy.

Anonymous said...

Okay, so since there's no jobs out there, I guess nobody will be happy.

How nice.