Since the pandemic, many workers have been reassessing how they spend their time. The ‘Great Resignation’ has happened as people try to carve out a life that is going to fulfil them. However, there isn’t one size that fits all. Let’s look at the 3 types of work-life balance that make us happy and find the one that is going to work for you.
Does work make us happy?
Many of us dream of retiring or winning the lottery and not having to work but would that really make us happy? Perhaps it is not that simple.
Work forms a large part of our identity and happiness. The job we carry out gives us a feeling of competence and validation that is hard to find elsewhere in our lives. This explains why some lottery winners and retirees go back to some form of employment. Let’s look at our first type of happiness.
Eudaimonic happiness
This is the type of happiness that we gain from realising our full potential and putting effort into tasks. The sense of happiness with a job well done is the perfect example of this type of fulfilment. Therefore, work that challenges us will lead to this type of satisfaction in our lives.
Hedonic happiness
This is perhaps the type of happiness that we all know well; we have all heard of the hedonistic person or lifestyle. Hedonic happiness is the type of cheerfulness you get when you are free from negative feelings. Leisure activities are a great way to feel this type of happiness and it leads to positive mental and physical health.
However, a recent study has found that too much free time is not a good thing. When the participants of the research had more than 5 hours of free time a day, it led to a decrease in wellbeing. This shows that we need a work-life balance, not only leisure time.
Experiential happiness
As well as work or leisure happiness, there is a type of happiness that involves having new experiences. Whether it is trekking to find Machu Picchu or going bungee jumping, the experiences are unique and can often have an unpleasant side to them.
The experiential happiness type of person is often concerned with completing goals and making progress in their lives. This is closer to eudaimonic happiness than hedonic happiness which we most associate with leisure time.
Which type of happiness do you relate to?
Tens of thousands of people were surveyed across nine countries to find which type of happiness was most popular.
More than 50% of people across all the countries thought hedonic happiness was best. A quarter felt that eudaimonic happiness gave them the greatest satisfaction in life. A smaller amount of people, around 10-15% in each country, were most happy with experimental happiness.
The key to long-term happiness
When trying to find a work-life balance it makes sense to work out which type of happiness fulfils you the most. Perhaps you need a balance of all three in your life to have a complete sense of fulfilment.
Now you have discovered the 3 types of work-life balance that make us happy and you think that you need a change of job , to find a better life balance, talk to us about your aspirations.
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