Robots Save Us Time—But Do They Make Us Happier?

A.V.  Whillans; Emanuel  de Bellis; Fabian  Nindl; Tobias  Schlager

Editorial | Harvard Business Review Digital Articles | October 5, 2020

Robots Save Us Time—But Do They Make Us Happier?

by A.V. Whillans, Emanuel de Bellis, Fabian Nindl and Tobias Schlager

Abstract

Autonomous products such as robotic vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, and playmates for our pets are meant to improve people’s lives—but do they actually make consumers happier? The authors share the results of recent research which found that owning autonomous products does in fact increase happiness, but with two important caveats: first, they found that consumers felt less comfortable using products with highly human-like features such as voices or names, and actually reported feeling guilty about relegating their dirty work to these products. Second, they found that if using a robotic product was associated with laziness, that could also decrease consumer happiness. Based on these findings, the authors offer several practical suggestions for how manufacturers can most effectively develop and market these time-saving products to the modern consumer.

Keywords: Technology; Consumer Behavior; Attitudes; Customer Satisfaction; Marketing Communications;

Format: Electronic

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Whillans, A.V., Emanuel de Bellis, Fabian Nindl, and Tobias Schlager. "Robots Save Us Time—But Do They Make Us Happier?" Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (October 5, 2020).

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2020

Income Volatility Increases Financial Impatience

Colin West, A.V. Whillans and Sanford DeVoe

Using a multi-method approach, we investigate whether income volatility is associated with financial impatience—the preference to receive a small sum of money immediately over a larger sum of money later. We find that experiencing more income volatility—including a higher frequency of either income dips or spikes – is associated with greater financial impatience. Using longitudinal data on biannual income, Study 1 demonstrates that this effect operates above and beyond individual differences in income risk preferences and wealth. Study 2 conceptually replicates these correlational findings with recent month-to-month income volatility and finds that this effect occurs primarily among people who report having little control over their finances. Using a longitudinal field experimental with low-income working women, Study 3 tests for a causal effect of an externally-induced spike in monthly income on changes in financial impatience. In a pre-post test experimental design, participants randomly assigned to receive cash transfers amounting to a median monthly income spike of 29% exhibit significantly greater financial impatience compared to a control condition in which participants receive no cash transfers. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for employers and policymakers.

Keywords: income volatility; compensation; impatience; time preferences; Income; Personal Finance; Behavior; Demographics; Policy;

Citation:

West, Colin, A.V. Whillans, and Sanford DeVoe. "Income Volatility Increases Financial Impatience." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-053, October 2020. View Details

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It’s true: we have more time for leisure than we did fifty years ago. But leisure has never been less relaxing, mostly because of the disintermediating effects of our screens. Technology saves us time, but it also takes it away. This is known as the autonomy paradox. We adopt mobile technologies to gain autonomy over when and how long we work, yet, ironically, we end up working all the time. Long blocks of free time we used to enjoy are now interrupted constantly by our smart watches, phones, tablets, and laptops. This situation taxes us cognitively, and fragments our leisure time in a way that makes it hard to use this time for something that will relieve stress or make us happy. Researchers call this phenomenon time confetti, which amounts to little bits of seconds and minutes lost to unproductive multitasking. Each bit alone seems not very bad. Collectively, though, all that confetti adds up to something more pernicious than you might expect.

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 921-012. Working professionals are often in the predicament of needing to make a choice between activities that will grant them more money or more time. Indeed, in large-scale representative panels of working adults, most respondents report feeling pressed for both time and money. Yet, we often are forced to make trade-offs between these valuable resources. Whether deciding to dine out vs. cook at home; to live in an expensive residence close to one’s workplace vs. a cheaper abode with a longer commute; or to pursue a high-income job with long work hours vs. a humble salary with no overtime, trade-offs between money and time are prevalent in all of our major and daily decisions.

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Robots Save Us Time—But Do They Make Us Happier?

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