Bummer: Shorter workday actually isn't the key to happiness, says study

At least that’s what new research in the Journal of Happiness Studies suggests. The 10-year longitudinal study examined the impact of the reform South Korea instituted in 2004 reducing working hours on Korean workers’ happiness. While people’s satisfaction with their working hours increased, there wasn’t a significant effect on overall life or job satisfaction.

While people’s satisfaction with their working hours increased, there wasn’t a significant effect on overall life or job satisfaction. The Five-Day Working Policy decreased the country’s official work week from 44 hours down to 40 hours, and made Saturdays officially non-working days. The policy aimed to combat the low rates of productivity and high rates of on-the-job injury associated with Korea’s long work hours, as well as bolster the country’s leisure industry. Over the years the study looked at, 1998 to 2008, average working hours declined by 10 percent.

Partially, the lack of impact on overall happiness could be due to companies reducing the number of hours their employees worked, but not the amount of work they were required to complete. As author Robert Rudolph writes, “many companies responded with increased work intensity and downward adjustments of employee’s leave and holidays to fill the gap.”