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Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness

researchgate.net

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Re: Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness

#11

Post by thejacenxpress »

Study 1: "Students participated in exchange for the chance to win one of three prizes valued at $700."

Study 2a: "Two hundred and sixty UBC students participated in exchange for entry into a lottery or for course credit (78% female)"

Study 2b: "In Study 2b, 518 adults were recruited from a science museum in Vancouver, Canada"

Study 3a: "In Study 3a, 242 UBC students participated in exchange for course credit or candy (74% female)"

Study 3b: " we were able to recruit a very large sample of UBC students, who participated for course credit (N=2303; 76% female).

Study 4: " we recruited our sample through the GfK Knowledge Networks Survey Panel. Panel members respond to an average of two online surveys per month and receive small cash rewards and prizes for survey completion"

Make of it what you will

Re: Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness

#12

Post by jMyles »

eterm wrote: post #3
manachar wrote: post #2

I wonder if this is behind the greater happiness of people with incomes over 75K per year. They actually have enough money to pay for goods and services that save them time.

Indeed it's easier to value time over money if you have a lot of money and your time is highly valued.

Perhaps the converse works as well: If you value time over money, your time tend to me more highly valued.

This seems like an easier topic to study, although still fraught with some of the measurement shortcomings inherent in this one.

Re: Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness

#13

Post by camelNotation »

finstell wrote: post #7

Money is nothing if you have it. Money is everything if you don't have it.

People say that and it seems true to some extent, but financially, people rarely fall into the categories of "limitless wealth" and "not a penny to my name." It's almost like a false dichotomy is being implied by this statement, claiming that if you don't prioritize money, you will be left penniless and ruined. That simply isn't true. There are a wide range of conditions between wealth and poverty and studies like this show that you do not need to be closer to rich than poor to be happy.

Re: Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness

#14

Post by camelNotation »

FreedomToCreate wrote: post #4

I wonder where this puts founders. We sacrifice a lot of time and money (missed vacations, family time as well as salaries) in the attempt to create something we can call our own. I always debate if it worth it, but there just this excitement associated with the unknown potential of what you are doing that keeps me going...and happy. Sometimes though I do wish I could take that family vacation, or purchase my own apa…

Reality: You're going to die.

Good Idea: Take a vacation. Enjoy life.

Re: Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness

#15

Post by rdudekul »

Are people’s general orientations to prioritize time over money are associated with greater happiness?

Would you choose a higher paying career that demands longer hours versus making less money and having more free time?

From the downloaded text/pdf of the article: "thinking about money leads people to value productivity and independence, thinking about time leads people to prioritize social connections"

It looks like high quality social connections lead to happiness: http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_...

Dry read but great paper.

Re: Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness

#16

Post by DarkTree »

finstell wrote: post #7

Money is nothing if you have it. Money is everything if you don't have it.

Isn't that too cut and dry? I think what research like this is trying to determine is at what point additional money does not equate to an equal increase in happiness. If you're homeless, then yes, money becomes a huge factor in your life, because it becomes about survival. But what about the middle-class, the people who have the choice to either worry about gaining extra money for material purposes, or choose to be satisfied with a less audacious lifestyle but live more in the moment.

Re: Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness

#18

Post by orthoganol »

I've shunned founding startups or working at startups for the last ~3 years, and instead worked 15-20 hr/wk usually remotely.

Time is your greatest asset, personally and professionally. It's how you stay abreast of the great opportunities of our time. You need that freedom to explore things that pique your interest or move you. Founding a startup means becoming mostly blind to the other great opportunities, which is why I'm so reluctant to do a startup, unless I think it's "the one."

IMO, the opportunity cost of startup jobs is far more sinister than you think. Only do it if you need the money or if you believe you're changing the world in the greatest way you can.

Re: Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness

#19

Post by lmm »

camelNotation wrote: post #13
finstell wrote: post #7

Money is nothing if you have it. Money is everything if you don't have it.

People say that and it seems true to some extent, but financially, people rarely fall into the categories of "limitless wealth" and "not a penny to my name." It's almost like a false dichotomy is being implied by this statement, claiming that if you don't prioritize money, you will be left penniless and ruined. That simply isn't true. There are a wide range of conditions between wealth and poverty and studies like th…

I think it's more the opposite: that the richer you are the more you can afford to prioritize time. This study doesn't even try to control for that; they measure materiality and a measure of subjective feelings of wealth, but they never measure e.g. parental income.

Re: Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness

#20

Post by dudul »

orthoganol wrote: post #18

I've shunned founding startups or working at startups for the last ~3 years, and instead worked 15-20 hr/wk usually remotely. Time is your greatest asset, personally and professionally. It's how you stay abreast of the great opportunities of our time. You need that freedom to explore things that pique your interest or move you. Founding a startup means becoming mostly blind to the other great opportunities, which is…

What about founding a startup to try to make big money and then have the time to explore things?
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