Publications

Educators

Article

Time, Money, and Happiness

By: Cassie Mogilner and Michael I. Norton

We highlight recent research examining how people should manage their most precious resources—time and money—to maximize their happiness. Contrary to people’s intuitions, happiness may be less contingent on the sheer amount of each resource available and more on how... View Details

Keywords: Happiness; Behavior; Resource Allocation; Money

Article

Matchmaking Promotes Happiness

By: Lalin Anik and Michael I. Norton

Four studies document and explore the psychology underlying people's proclivity to connect people to each other—to play "matchmaker." First, Study 1 shows that chronic matchmaking is associated with higher well-being. Studies 2 and 3 show that matching others on the... View Details

Keywords: Happiness; Relationships

27 Dec 2011
News

Spending On Happiness

04 Jan 2018
News

How to Monetize Happiness

April 2005
Article

Partisan Social Happiness

By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch

We use a new approach to study questions in political economy that relies on data on the subjective well-being of a large sample of people living in the OECD over the period 1975-1992. Controlling for the personal characteristics of the respondents, year and country... View Details

Keywords: Political Partisanship; Political Economy; Society; Happiness

At TEDxCambridge, Michael Norton shares fascinating research on how money can, indeed buy happiness—when you don't spend it on yourself. Listen for surprising data on the many ways pro-social spending can benefit you, your work, and (of course) other people.

View Details

November 2003
Article

The Macroeconomics of Happiness

By: Rafael Di Tella, Robert MacCulloch and Andrew J. Oswald

We show that macroeconomic movements have strong effects on the happiness of nations. First, we find that there are clear microeconomic patterns in the psychological well-being levels of a quarter of a million randomly sampled Europeans and Americans from the 1970s to... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Happiness

September 2017
Case

Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi

By: Ethan Bernstein and Stephanie Marton

Inspired by research linking happiness and productivity, Hitachi had invested in developing new “people analytics” technologies to help companies increase employee happiness. Hitachi had begun manufacturing high-tech badges that quantify a wearer’s activity patterns.... View Details

Keywords: People Analytics; Japan; Sociometers; Wearables; Interpersonal Communication; Human Resources; Happiness; Technology Industry; Japan

Educators

25 Aug 2022
News

Happy Returns

Photos by Russ Campbell, Neal Hamberg, and Stu Rosner The HBS campus was buzzing with activity in May and June as nearly 12,000 alumni and their guests returned for a series of make-up reunions and commencement exercises. MBA alumni who would have marked their One-Year... View Details

Keywords: celebrations; social; faculty; reunions

2019
Article

Preferences for Experienced Versus Remembered Happiness

By: Cassie Mogilner and Michael I. Norton

Consider two types of happiness: one experienced on a moment-to-moment basis, the other a reflective evaluation where people feel happy looking back. Though researchers have measured and argued the merits of each, we inquired into which happiness people say they want.... View Details

Keywords: Well-being; Life Satisfaction; Experience; Retrospective; Time; Happiness; Satisfaction; Welfare; Perception

April 2018
Teaching Note

Happy UAE

By: Joshua Schwartzstein

Teaching Note for HBS No. 918-041. View Details

Keywords: UAE; Wellbeing; Wellness; Government Initiatives; Happiness; Welfare; Governance; Motivation and Incentives; United Arab Emirates

08 Mar 2021
News

Happiness through Voluntary Sacrific‪e

01 Mar 2023
News

Happy Monday

Illustration by Fabio Consoli Illustration by Fabio Consoli The co-CEOs noticed it right away: Early in the pandemic, staffers at the online children’s clothing company Primary.com were struggling when they logged back into Zoom on Mondays. People were not recharging... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Apparel Manufacturing; Manufacturing

August 8, 2017
Article

Buying Time Promotes Happiness

By: A.V. Whillans, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Paul Smeets, Rene Bekkers and Michael I. Norton

Around the world, increases in wealth have produced an unintended consequence: a rising sense of time scarcity. We provide evidence that using money to buy time can provide a buffer against this time famine, thereby promoting happiness. Using large, diverse samples... View Details

Keywords: Time; Money Funds; Well-being; Money; Happiness; Satisfaction

26 Sep 2020
News

Here is what 10 Happiness World Leaders have to share about Happiness

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 16 Nov 2017
Webinars: Career

How to Be Happy at Work

Are you truly happy at work? Or, like most people, do you have some good days but most of the time work is stressful, all-consuming, and not as fulfilling as you'd like? Annie McKee will share that outdated myths and mindsets are a big part of the reason so many of us... View Details

02 Jun 2008
Research & Ideas

Spending on Happiness

Can money buy you happiness? Yes—so long as you spend the money on someone else. According to new research, giving other people even as little as $5 can lead to increased well-being for the giver. That's the insight into the secret of View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

15 Sep 2020
Cold Call Podcast

Is Happiness at Work Really Attainable?

Keywords: Re: Francesca Gino; Financial Services

December 2014 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Bhutan: Governing for Happiness

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Thomas Humphrey and Benjamin Safran

Unique among the world’s countries, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan had abandoned the traditional policy goal of increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in favor of pursuing Gross National Happiness (GNH). Famously, Bhutan ranked highly on lists of the happiest... View Details

Keywords: Happiness; Economic Growth; Governance; Cost vs Benefits; Bhutan

Educators