happiness - Publications - Faculty & Research

2025
Working Paper

The Hidden Costs of Working Multiple Jobs: Implications for Spending Behavior and Wellbeing

Across three studies, combining survey data, transaction-level analysis from 90,548 customers of a nationwide retail bank, and insights from the General Social Survey, we study whether people with multiple jobs spend their labor income differently than people who earn... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Operations; Employee Behavior; Job Design and Levels; Personal Finance; Well-being; Happiness; Satisfaction; Wages

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2022
Book

From Strength to Strength: Finding Meaning, Success, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life

By: Arthur C. Brooks

Many of us assume that the more successful we are, the less susceptible we become to the sense of professional and social irrelevance that often accompanies aging. But the truth is, the greater our achievements and our attachment to them, the more we notice our... View Details

Keywords: Aging; Meaning In Life; Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Success; Happiness; Satisfaction

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31 May 2016
First Look

May 31, 2016

June 2016 Medical Care Vaccination Rates Are Associated with Functional Proximity but Not Base Proximity of Vaccination Clinics By: Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, and Gwendolyn I. Reynolds Abstract—Background: Routine annual... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 30

2017 Advances in Strategic Management Geography, Location, and Strategy By: Alcácer, Juan, Bruce Kogut, Catherine Thomas, and Bernard Yin Yeung, eds. Abstract—Changes in both technology and global political economy have vastly accelerated the pace of globalization in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

DJ DiDonna

Dennis “DJ” DiDonna has dedicated his career to commercializing social science research to create organizations which positively impact the world.

He is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School where he teaches the... View Details

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

situations where the threat to survival rolls on monotonously day after day. This is because planning automatically implies a future, and this future is frequently in doubt.” Crisis leaders must motivate people past that doubt—not by View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Articles of 2023

BalanceYounger workers are rejecting the idea of sticking with one employer for the long haul and are instead finding happiness by job-hopping and creating dramatically different boundaries with work. In a new book, Christina M. Wallace... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

28 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

How Workplace Wellness Programs Can Give Employees the Energy Boost They Need

offerings now, with the goal of attracting and retaining talent and keeping workers happy and healthy, which will boost productivity and improve the bottom line. Mental health issues impact work COVID-19 highlighted the fact that workers... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson

Web

Health Care Initiative - Health Care

LDIvideo After Failing as a Parent, I Gave up Resolutions for Two Words Re: Teresa Amabile 02 Feb 2025 | CNN The Psychology of Giving: Why Giving to Others Makes Us Happy Re: Michael Norton 27 Jan 2025 | Guardian Initiatives focus on... View Details

Nitin Nohria

Nitin Nohria served as the tenth dean of Harvard Business School from 2010-2020. He previously served as co-chair of the Leadership Initiative, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Development, and Head of the Organizational Behavior unit.

As Dean, building on... View Details

05 Oct 2020
Book

Want to Be Happier? Make More Free Time

justifying my choices by telling myself what a lot of us tell ourselves: that we’re working hard now so we will have more time to be happy later,” she says. “We all need to make better decisions on the margins, so we don’t wake up one day... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

22 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

When Does Impact Investing Make the Biggest Impact?

study’s authors. “But, if there were 20 other venture capital funds that would have been just as happy to give $1 million to that firm, then the capital isn’t additional. This seems to be the case for the majority of the portfolio... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

15 Feb 2022
Book

When Working Harder Doesn’t Work, Time to Reinvent Your Career

quickly in his younger years, called fluid intelligence, naturally decline toward midlife. He told a friend: “I have everything to make me happy and contented, but life has become very wearisome to me.” Yet people on the back end of life... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

13 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

Want to Be Happier? Spend Some Money on Avoiding Household Chores

finite lives. “The less control you feel you have over your daily experience, the less happy you feel. Money is a tool that allows you to purchase that control.” “People save for vacations, personal experiences, going out for nice meals,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

21 Jun 2018
Blog Post

Living in a Dorm at HBS

means in the winter months you can grab lunch, go to class, and visit friends without even having to go outside). MBA student Megan Trout was happy to shed light on her housing choice, and the reasons she loves dorm living. Why did you... View Details

01 Dec 2023
News

The Imposter Among Us

happy life, I am a church organist and composer of more than 900 pieces, many for organ, although I have no college degree in music. About 25 years ago I started playing occasional public recitals. Now, playing for a Sunday-worship... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

11 Aug 2022
Research & Ideas

When Parents Tell Kids to ‘Work Hard,’ Do They Send the Wrong Message?

course of their lives.” You Might Also Like: Kids of Working Moms Grow into Happy Adults A Rare Find in Health Care: A Simple Solution to Racial Inequity How Systemic Racism Can Threaten National Security Related reading from the Working... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Education

Blog

Take Control of Your Personal Brand

branding is all about. We all want to be well thought of in the minds of others who are important to our happiness and to the achievement of our goals. We all have a personal brand, whether we like it or not. In and outside of work,... View Details

04 Jun 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Prosocial Bonuses Increase Employee Satisfaction and Team Performance

Keywords: by Lalin Anik, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton, Elizabeth W. Dunn & Jordi Quoidbach

Howard H. Stevenson

Howard H. Stevenson is Sarofim-Rock Baker Foundation Professor emeritus, former Senior Associate Dean, Director of Publishing, and Chair of the Harvard Business Publishing Company board. The Sarofim-Rock Chair was established in 1982 to provide a continuing base for... View Details

Keywords: broadcasting; communications; computer; construction; financial services; forest products; health care; high technology; industrial goods; insurance industry; investment banking industry; manufacturing; paper; professional services; real estate; service industry; software; venture capital industry

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