Too much free time may be almost as bad as too little
Using excess discretionary time on productive activities can help bolster well-being

Date:
September 9, 2021
Source:
American Psychological Association
Summary:
As an individual's free time increases, so does that person's
sense of well-being -- but only up to a point. Too much free time
can be also be a bad thing, according to new research.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
As an individual's free time increases, so does that person's sense
of well- being -- but only up to a point. Too much free time can be
also be a bad thing, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.


========================================================================== "People often complain about being too busy and express wanting more
time. But is more time actually linked to greater happiness? We found
that having a dearth of discretionary hours in one's day results in
greater stress and lower subjective well-being," said Marissa Sharif,
PhD, an assistant professor of marketing at The Wharton School and lead
author of the paper. "However, while too little time is bad, having more
time is not always better." The research was published in the Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology.

Researchers analyzed the data from 21,736 Americans who participated
in the American Time Use Survey between 2012 and 2013. Participants
provided a detailed account of what they did during the prior 24 hours -- indicating the time of day and duration of each activity -- and reported
their sense of well- being. The researchers found that as free time
increased, so did well-being, but it leveled off at about two hours and
began to decline after five.

Correlations in both directions were statistically significant.

The researchers also analyzed data from 13,639 working Americans who participated in the National Study of the Changing Workforce between
1992 and 2008. Among the survey's many questions, participants were
asked about their amount of discretionary time (e.g., "On average, on
days when you're working, about how many hours [minutes] do you spend
on your own free-time activities?") and their subjective well-being,
which was measured as life satisfaction (e.g., "All things considered,
how do you feel about your life these days? Would you say you feel
1=very satisfied, 2=somewhat satisfied, 3=somewhat dissatisfied, or
4=very dissatisfied?") Once again, the researchers found that higher
levels of free time were significantly associated with higher levels
of well-being, but only up to a point. After that, excess free time was
not associated with greater well-being.

To further investigate the phenomenon, the researchers conducted two
online experiments involving more than 6,000 participants. In the first experiment, participants were asked to imagine having a given amount
of discretionary time every day for at least six months. Participants
were randomly assigned to have a low (15 minutes per day), moderate
(3.5 hours per day), or high (7 hours per day) amount of discretionary
time. Participants were asked to report the extent to which they would experience enjoyment, happiness and satisfaction.

Participants in both the low and high discretionary time groups
reported lower well-being than the moderate discretionary time
group. The researchers found that those with low discretionary time
felt more stressed than those with a moderate amount, contributing to
lower well-being, but those with high levels of free time felt less
productive than those in the moderate group, leading them to also have
lower well-being.

In the second experiment, researchers looked at the potential role of productivity. Participants were asked to imagine having either a moderate
(3.5 hours) or high (7 hours) amount of free time per day, but were also
asked to imagine spending that time in either productive (e.g., working
out, hobbies or running) or unproductive activities (e.g., watching
television or using the computer). The researchers found participants
with more free time reported lower levels of well-being when engaging in unproductive activities. However, when engaging in productive activities,
those with more free time felt similar to those with a moderate amount
of free time.

"Though our investigation centered on the relationship between amount of discretionary time and subjective well-being, our additional exploration
into how individuals spend their discretionary time proved revealing,"
said Sharif.

"Our findings suggest that ending up with entire days free to
fill at one's discretion may leave one similarly unhappy. People
should instead strive for having a moderate amount of free time
to spend how they want. In cases when people do find themselves
with excessive amounts of discretionary time, such as retirement
or having left a job, our results suggest these individuals
would benefit from spending their newfound time with purpose." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
American_Psychological_Association. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Marissa A. Sharif, Cassie Mogilner, Hal E. Hershfield. Having
too little
or too much time is linked to lower subjective well-being.. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 2021; DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000391 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210909124451.htm

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