Believing Leisure Is Wasteful Lowers Joy

Newswise — While quite a few – from Aristotle to the Dalai Lama – have opined on the condition of human joy, a new Rutgers-led study finds that utter contentment relies upon, at the very least in portion, on believing that leisure pursuits are not a squander of time.

The findings from 4 studies look in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 

“While get the job done can impart this means and a perception of intent in daily life, leisure, these types of as time with relatives and friends, hobbies and training, is what would make our life delighted and healthier,” reported guide author Gabriela Tonietto, an assistant professor of marketing at Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick. “But not everyone sees value in time put in on leisure. Quite a few hold a standard perception that these activities are an unproductive use of time – at the cost of their have contentment. We come across that believing leisure is wasteful brings about time invested on leisure to be considerably less enjoyable.”

According to the study, imagining of leisure as wasteful helps prevent us from taking pleasure in our leisure pursuits – particularly purely pleasure functions this kind of as hanging out with friends, viewing Television and just comforting.

Additional intention-oriented leisure functions, like training and meditation, are likely to really feel successful and so are still loved regardless of whether or not people see worth in their leisure.

The success show that those people who do not love satisfaction-pushed routines are extra frustrated, anxious and stressed. The findings recommend pleasure may perhaps be driven not only by no matter if people interact in leisure, but regardless of whether they uncover benefit in what they are accomplishing.

In one part of the analyze, the researchers requested 302 people today to remember what they did for Halloween, how substantially they relished the holiday and their attitudes toward leisure in normal. Those who believe that leisure is wasteful liked their Halloween fewer, primarily when they engaged in functions like going to a party compared to other routines that might be entertaining but may possibly also satisfy tasks, like trick or managing with their youngsters. 

In another aspect of the review, participants read a information posting intended to persuade the reader that leisure is wasteful, unproductive or productive.

Upcoming they viewed the “Best Humorous Cat Video clips 2019” and had been requested how a great deal they enjoyed it. These who believed that leisure is wasteful or unproductive didn’t get pleasure from viewing the movie as much as individuals who assumed leisure time was productive and critical.

The researchers recommend that folks who assume leisure is wasteful relate it to scenarios the place it is used to procrastinate at the expenditure of get the job done or required responsibilities. At times, reseachers say, leisure is utilised to squander time, but most of the time, leisure is useful.

“Attitudes can be tricky to alter, so it could not be doable to change beliefs about leisure right away,” stated Tonietto. “For individuals who feel of leisure as wasteful, focusing on the effective approaches that individual leisure activities can provide their prolonged-term goals can support.”

The investigation was conducted in collaboration with scientists from The Ohio State University and Harvard University.