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Publications
  • August 8, 2017
  • Article
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Buying Time Promotes Happiness

By: A.V. Whillans, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Paul Smeets, Rene Bekkers and Michael I. Norton
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:5
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Abstract

Around the world, increases in wealth have produced an unintended consequence: a rising sense of time scarcity. We provide evidence that using money to buy time can provide a buffer against this time famine, thereby promoting happiness. Using large, diverse samples from the United States, Canada, Denmark, and the Netherlands (n = 6,271), we show that individuals who spend money on time-saving services report greater life satisfaction. A field experiment provides causal evidence that working adults report greater happiness after spending money on a time-saving purchase than on a material purchase. Together, these results suggest that using money to buy time can protect people from the detrimental effects of time pressure on life satisfaction.

Keywords

Time; Money Funds; Well-being; Money; Happiness; Satisfaction

Citation

Whillans, A.V., Elizabeth W. Dunn, Paul Smeets, Rene Bekkers, and Michael I. Norton. "Buying Time Promotes Happiness." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114, no. 32 (August 8, 2017): 8523–8527.
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About The Authors

Ashley V. Whillans

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

Michael I. Norton

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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    Employee Stress Is a Business Risk—Not an HR Problem

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More from the Authors
  • Employee Stress Is a Business Risk—Not an HR Problem By: Marion Chomse, Lydia Roos, Reeva Misra and Ashley Whillans
  • Buying (Quality) Time Predicts Relationship Satisfaction By: A.V. Whillans, Jessie Pow and Joe J. Gladstone
  • Designing the Future of Work: Atlassian's Distributed Work Practices By: Ashley Whillans and Gabriel Rondón Ichikawa
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