Staying Busy Keeps Us Happy

The notion that idle hands are the devil's tools is only half the story; with research showing those idle hands are also unhappy.

In a paper published in the journal Psychological Science, researchers show that busy people are happier than those that are idle or lazy.

But a team of researchers led by Christopher Hsee, of the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, says his study shows that given a choice people will take the lazy option.

In the paper, Hsee and colleagues say this trait may be a hangover from early evolution when our ancestors needed to conserve energy to compete for scarce resources.

"Expending energy without purpose could have jeopardized survival," they wrote.

Although modern society does not require great expenditure of energy for survival, "the long-formed tendency to conserve energy lingers, making people wary of expending effort without purpose," they added.

In a series of experiments, college students were asked to complete two surveys. After finishing the first questionnaire they were told it would be 15 minutes before the next survey would be ready.

In the first experiment they were given the choice of dropping their first survey at two locations -- one nearby and the other, a 12-minute, return walking trip away.

In each case they would receive a similar treat when they dropped off the completed questionnaire. This experiment was then varied to include different types of treats at each location.

In the second experiment the students were told which drop-off point to use and were forced into busyness.

In the first experiment, a majority of participants chose to be idle and dropped their papers at the location just outside the room. But when a choice of possibly nicer treat was introduced, the majority of participants walked to the farthest drop-off point.

In each experiment those who walked the long distance reported being happier than those who had sat waiting outside the exam room.

"When given a choice between busyness and idleness, more people will choose busyness if there is a justification than if there is not, even if the justification is specious," said Hsee and colleagues. "Busy people are happier than idle people, regardless of whether they choose to be busy or are forced to be busy."

They say this finding has social implications as "busyness can be either constructive or destructive."

Idle people often engage in destructive busyness (from inner-city crimes to cross-border wars); as Hippocrates observed in Decorum, "Idleness and lack of occupation tend nay are dragged towards evil."

The researchers say a third type of busyness could be encouraged in society -- "futile busyness, namely busyness serving no purpose other than to prevent idleness."

"For example, homeowners may increase the happiness of their idle housekeepers by letting in some mice and prompting the housekeepers to clean," they wrote, adding "governments may increase the happiness of idle citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless."