We're happier when we're busy, but our instinct is to be lazy, according to researchers whose data was published in the British Psychological Society's Research Digest blog.
When given a choice between executing a task for 15 minutes or waiting quietly for 15 minutes, most people chose inertia. But the students who worked on their task reported that they were subsequently much happier than those who chose inactivity.
Researcher Christopher Hsee did a couple of studies, including one asking students to evaluate a bracelet and then were given the option of either spending 15 minutes lolling around or 15 minutes disassembling and rebuilding the bracelet. Those given the option to reassemble the bracelet into a new design tended to take up the challenge over those who just had to rebuild the same thing. Those who took up the challenge reported feeling happier than those who sat idle.
Hsee's team say there is a case for encouraging "futile busyness" or "busyness serving no purpose other than to prevent idleness. Such activity is more realistic than constructive busyness and less evil than destructive busyness."
In most small businesses, there is not a lot of opportunity for lazing around. It's more of a mentality addressing "how many of these tasks can I realistically get done on my to-do list today while addressing multiple unexpected situations."
But I think it is food for thought. While most of us crave "down time," in reality we feel good when we are asked to offer new ways to create things (like rebuilding a bracelet into a new design) and are busy. I think it's also an indicator that it can help to include all levels of employees in some of the decision-making process that goes on at a company. It's empowering and allows growth.
By the way, according to the study, airports have tapped into this "futile busyness" concept. Some airports have deliberately increased the walk to the luggage carousel so as to reduce the time passengers spend waiting around for luggage to arrive.
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