Time Use and Happiness of Millionaires: Evidence From the Netherlands

Abstract

How do the very wealthy spend their time, and how does time use relate to well-being? In two studies in the Netherlands, the affluent ( N = 863; N = 690) and the general population ( N = 1,232; N = 306) spent time in surprisingly similar ways such as by spending the same amount of time working. Yet the nature of their time use differed in critical ways that are related to life satisfaction. In Study 1, millionaires spent more time engaged in active leisure (e.g., exercising and volunteering) rather than passive leisure (e.g., watching television and relaxing). In Study 2, millionaires spent more time engaged in tasks at work over which they had more control. The affluent sample belongs to the top of the income and wealth distribution, representing a significantly wealthier sample than in previous studies. These results further our understanding of when and how wealth may translate into greater well-being. All materials for this article are available at https://osf.io/vndmt/

Income More Reliably Predicts Frequent than Intense Happiness

“…The current paper contributes to the literature on income and subjective well-being. First, while prior work has found a robust link between income and life satisfaction, the link between income and happiness is more tenuous (Donnelly et al, 2018;Jebb et al, 2018;Smeets et al, 2020;Stevenson & Wolfers, 2013). In the current research, we highlight that one way to resolve this tension is to bring the dynamics of happiness into the foreground.…”

“…Money is believed to bring about greater satisfaction in life. While the relationship between income and happiness has received a great deal of attention (Donnelly et al, 2018;Jebb et al, 2018;Kahneman & Deaton, 2010;Smeets et al, 2020;Stevenson & Wolfers, 2013), the current work inquired into the role of the dynamics of happiness-frequency and intensity-in the relationship between income and life satisfaction. Across three studies, income was consistently positively related to happiness frequency, and happiness frequency in part explained the relationship between income and life satisfaction due to decreased passive leisure.…”

“…In light of income's robust relationship to life satisfaction (Donnelly, Zheng, Haisley, & Norton, 2018;Jebb, Tay, Diener, & Oishi, 2018;Smeets, Whillans, Bekkers, & Norton, 2020;Stevenson & Wolfers, 2013) and the close mapping between happiness and life satisfaction (Cohn, Fredrickson, Brown, Mikels, & Conway, 2009;Gamble & Gärling, 2012;Lyubomirsky, Tkach, & DiMatteo, 2006), the current research asks: What makes the link between income and happiness so tenuous?…”

A multicountry perspective on gender differences in time use during COVID-19

“…Recent research has started to investigate the relationship between time use and happiness and how this relationship depends on factors such as wealth and other demographic characteristics ( 7 – 10 ). Spending time on active leisure activities such as socializing or exercising can promote happiness ( 11 ). However, certain groups in society, primarily low-income women, tend to spend most of their time on necessities (e.g., household chores and caretaking responsibilities), leaving them “time-poor” and with little time for leisure activities ( 10 ).…”

Individual motives for (re-)distribution

“…Smeets et al (2015) find that millionaires give substantially more than subjects usually give in a dictator game when matched to another subject with low income. In a recent study, Smeets et al (2018) show that even though millionaires have approximately the same amount of time available for leisure as subjects from the general population, they spend more of this time volunteering than the latter. Evidence on the differences in selfishness between wealthier people and the rest of the population is thus mixed.…”