Busyness is Goodness (07-20-10)

People dislike being unoccupied, and clever designers may be able to reduce idleness in spaces they develop.  They will need to be clever, however, because “People dread idleness, yet they need a reason to be busy.”  This reason has to be just good enough so that we can justify our actions to ourselves.  A direct relationship between busyness and happiness is found even when people are compelled to be busy.  As the researchers describe, some designers are already making people happy by eliminating idleness:  “Airports have tried to increase the happiness (or reduce the unhappiness) of passengers waiting at the baggage carousel by increasing the distance between the gate and the baggage claim area, forcing them to walk far rather than wait idly.”

C. Hsee, A. Yang, and L. Wang.  2010.  “Idleness Aversion and the Need for Justifiable Busyness.”  Psychological Science, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 926-930.