Does Less Work Make You Happier? No

You might think that shorter work days with more time to treat yourself would make a happier employee. Yet according to a recent study, that might not necessarily be the case.

In fact, results showed that shorter work hours may not provide the necessary benefits seen in longer work hours or that the same amount of work may be done in a smaller amount of time, thus creating more stress in the work environment.

According to Robert Rudolf of Korea University, Seoul, who conducted the study and recently introduced a Five-Day Working Policy in South Korea, a policy that was first introduced in 2004, this brought the working hours down from 44 to 40 hours a week.

The Korean Labor Foundation shows that the policy implementation is an attempt to enhance living standards and boost the country's dwindling leisure industry.

Yet researchers found that male workers were not generally pleased with the implementation, and showed little effect on overall job and life satisfaction, according to the study.

Rudolf speculates that this may be due to the fact that, as mentioned previously, shorter work hours may increase the amount of work that needs to be completed but in a shorter period of time.

More information regarding the findings can be found in the Journal of Happiness Studies.