Choose between a pay raise or working one day less to be happier. Your answer gives you away.

If you are given one of these options Salary incrementone of two A reduction in working hourswhat would you choose? it depends on the answer Your happiness. This is one of the powerful arguments of the book “Fill Your Life with Hours” (Universo de Letras, 2024). Patricia BenyasTime management expert and productivity coach.

He time is golden, is a very clichéd saying, but the reality is that we run out of money to get money later. And if we’ve learned anything from ‘wellness gurus’ it’s this social interaction, spend time with Friend And with the people we love it’s one of three The basic legs of well-being. It is truly impossible to be happy if we run out of time to share.

People who value free time are happier

psychologist Dan Gilbert, Harvard University professor tells us this Valuing time more than money is linked to higher levels of happiness, especially when getting that money requires working long hours. They also concluded that as age increases, time becomes more important in people’s priorities.

“If we work without stopping and without paying adequate attention to our surroundings, family or friends, we are becoming time poor people, and time poor people less happy, less productive“With more anxiety, depression and stress,” says Patricia Benyas. On the other hand, she notes: “Happy people socialize more, meet new people and spend more time with loved ones.” ‘

Millennials are more clear about the value of time

According to consulting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers, Millennials (born between 1980 and 1995) They prefer to spend more time than a big paycheck, Until now, reducing the working day (and associated pay) was related to work-life balance tasks, such as caring for small children or a sick family member. “But new generations have realized this,” explains Benyas. agreement It’s also about taking care of yourself.From your partner, from your parents or from your friends” And above all, the relationship with work in general has changed “Young people consider work as a means of stability and well-being”, but this is not the end nor Is it the only source of well-being?

Long working hours are the leading cause of accidents at work

when we talk work accidents The first thing that comes to mind is a worker meeting with an accident. But the reality is that trauma causes only 19% of deaths (360,000 deaths). The main reason for this is working long hours According to a study published by WHO (World Health Organization) and ILO (International Labor Organization) in May 2021, the first to measure the burden of heart disease and stroke due to working too many continuous hours: Nothing less 750,000 deaths per year In this world. Poor sleep, constant stress and excessive workload ultimately take a toll on the heart.

The Dalai Lama has already said this, although it seems absurd to quote him, but his words have not lost any relevance: “Men They lose their health to raise money And then They lose money to get health back And, thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present. “They live as if they were never going to die and they die as if they were never going to live.”