How much does money affect our happiness?

A recent study from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania hints that money affects happiness more than we expected. Reading Matthew Killingsworth’s (senior fellow at Penn’s Wharton School) excellent study provides an unexpected conclusion. His findings seem to indicate that the more money we make, the happier we are.

Killingsworth collected 1.7 million points of data from 33,000 participants sharing their feelings throughout the day. Before this study, the prevailing thought that earning above $75,000 per year did not further impact happiness. This point was famously touted in 2010 backed by a study by Angus Deaton and psychologist Daniel Kahneman. Now it looks like Killingsworth is showing that the happiness quotient continues to grow beyond the $75,000 plateau.

The new research was conducted using a methodology called experience sampling. People involved in the study were asked to repeatedly fill out short surveys throughout the day at random times. Through this process, he gained insight into the arch of minute-to-minute human existence – including insights into happiness.

In the study, Killingsworth found that there is no dollar amount at which the importance of money, in relation to happiness, is diminished. The explanation for this result is that higher earners feel an increased sense of control over life.

It is true that money allows us to be more in control of our lives. Having more money in our bank accounts allows us to enjoy our time away from work. Money gives us autonomy by affording us the opportunity to create meaningful experiences.

Creating a meaningful career is a combination of factors. Yes, as Killingsworth found, money is absolutely a critical factor, but the balancing act of finding on-going happiness is a collection of elements in balance. Here are a few of those critical elements:

• Relevance – feeling meaningful through one’s career.
• Culture – sharing a cultural connection where one feels that they belong.
• Doing work that you enjoy – our work takes up many hours of our day. One must enjoy at least 1/3 of a typical day as well as enjoying an overall satisfaction in completing long-term objectives.
• Making a difference – understanding and appreciating how the impact of one’s work impacts the organization and our community.
• Money – yes, money is important both above $75,000 and below a $75,000 annual income.

By recognizing the importance of money within a balance of many factors, one can create a career plan that can, in fact, impact happiness.

To read more about this interesting study, please visit: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/money-matters-to-happiness-perhaps-more-than-previously-thought