“While work can impart meaning and a sense of purpose in life, leisure, such as time with family and friends, hobbies and exercise, is what makes our lives happy and healthy,” mentioned lead writer Gabriela Tonietto, an assistant professor of selling at Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick.
‘Happiness may be driven not only by whether people engage in leisure, but whether they find value in what they are doing.’
“But not everyone sees value in time spent on leisure. Many hold a general belief that these activities are an unproductive use of time – at the cost of their own happiness. We find that believing leisure is wasteful causes time spent on leisure to be less enjoyable.”
According to the research, pondering of leisure as wasteful prevents us from having fun with our spare time activities – particularly purely pleasure actions equivalent to hanging out with buddies, watching TV and simply enjoyable.
More goal-oriented leisure actions, like train and meditation, are likely to really feel productive and so are nonetheless loved whether or not or not folks see worth of their leisure.
The outcomes present that those that don’t get pleasure from pleasure-driven actions are extra depressed, anxious and confused.
The findings counsel happiness could also be pushed not solely by whether or not folks have interaction in leisure, however whether or not they discover worth in what they’re doing.
In one a part of the research, the researchers requested 302 folks to recall what they did for Halloween, how a lot they loved the vacation and their attitudes towards leisure typically.
Those who imagine leisure is wasteful loved their Halloween much less, particularly once they engaged in actions like going to a celebration in comparison with different actions that is likely to be enjoyable however may additionally fulfill duties, like trick or treating with their children.
In one other a part of the research, members learn a information article meant to persuade the reader that leisure is wasteful, unproductive or productive.
Next they watched the “Best Funny Cat Videos 2019” and had been requested how a lot they loved it. Those who believed that leisure is wasteful or unproductive did not get pleasure from watching the video as a lot as those that thought leisure time was productive and essential.
The researchers counsel that individuals who assume leisure is wasteful relate it to cases the place it’s used to procrastinate on the expense of labor or essential duties.
Sometimes, reseachers say, leisure is used to waste time, however more often than not, leisure is effective.
“Attitudes can be difficult to change, so it may not be possible to shift beliefs about leisure overnight,” mentioned Tonietto.
“For those who think of leisure as wasteful, focusing on the productive ways that individual leisure activities can serve their long-term goals can help.”
The analysis was performed in collaboration with researchers from The Ohio State University and Harvard University.
Source: Eurekalert
