Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Science Advances

Valuing Time Over Money Predicts Happiness After a Major Life Transition: A Preregistered Longitudinal Study of Graduating Students

By: A.V. Whillans, Lucia Macchia and Elizabeth Dunn
  • Format:Electronic
  • | Pages:8
ShareBar

Abstract

How does prioritizing time or money shape major life decisions and subsequent well-being? In a preregistered longitudinal study of approximately 1000 graduating university students, respondents who valued time over money chose more intrinsically rewarding activities and were happier 1 year after graduation. These results remained significant controlling for baseline happiness and potential confounds, such as materialism and socioeconomic status, and when using alternative model specifications. These findings extend previous research by showing that the tendency to value time over money is predictive not only of daily consumer choices but also of major life decisions. In addition, this research uncovers a previously unidentified mechanism—the pursuit of intrinsically motivated activities—that underlies the previously observed association between valuing time and happiness. This work sheds new light on whether, when, and how valuing time shapes happiness.

Keywords

Time Use; Trade-offs; Career Decisions; Time Management; Money; Happiness; Values and Beliefs; Personal Development and Career

Citation

Whillans, A.V., Lucia Macchia, and Elizabeth Dunn. "Valuing Time Over Money Predicts Happiness After a Major Life Transition: A Preregistered Longitudinal Study of Graduating Students." Science Advances 5, no. 9 (September 2019).
  • Read Now

About The Author

Ashley V. Whillans

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • June 4, 2025
    • Harvard Business Review (website)

    Employee Stress Is a Business Risk—Not an HR Problem

    By: Marion Chomse, Lydia Roos, Reeva Misra and Ashley Whillans
    • April 2025
    • Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

    Buying (Quality) Time Predicts Relationship Satisfaction

    By: A.V. Whillans, Jessie Pow and Joe J. Gladstone
    • March 2025 (Revised June 2025)
    • Faculty Research

    Designing the Future of Work: Atlassian's Distributed Work Practices

    By: Ashley Whillans and Gabriel Rondón Ichikawa
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
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.