Each day, the average American spends about 8.9 hours at work, amounting to about 44 hours a week. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that’s more time than any other activity we do each day. For all the time we spend at work, you’d think we’d all be doing something we like. But new research from the UK finds that, aside from being sick, being at work results in the least happiness.
Researchers from the University of Sussex and London School of Economics used an app called Mappiness to find how happy people were at random times of the day. The app randomly sends users to questions about what they’re currently doing and how they’re feeling. Over a million responses were included in the study, which revealed that after being sick, being at work caused the least happiness. Being at work caused happiness levels to drop up to 8 percent compared to other activities outside of the office, the study found.
"Although we may be positive about our jobs when reflecting on the meaning and purpose they give us, and the money they provide, actually engaging in paid work comes at a significant psychological cost,” said Mappiness creator Dr. George MacKerron, an economist at the University of Sussex, in a press release. "It appears that work is highly negatively associated with momentary wellbeing — work really is disutility, as economists have traditionally assumed. At any given moment, we would rather be doing almost anything else."
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