9–5 Workers Would Be Happier If They Valued Their Time Properly

Valuing your time to maximize happiness

Photo by Magnet.me on Unsplash

Here’s a question more people need to think deeply about:

How do you value your time?

Personal finance — and most things in life — is largely determined by how you trade the world’s two most valuable resources: time and money.

Many people agonize over how they value money but don’t put nearly enough thought into valuing their time.

But focusing on valuing your time could lead to a greater work-life balance, a more sustainable career, and a happier life.

Let’s dive into the details.

Two competing ways to value your time

A 2021 paper titled “ On the value of time: Workers’ value of their time depends on mode of valuation” offers two primary ways in which employees value their time while working.

• Fixed-Time Mode: workers decide the minimum payment they’d accept for a fixed amount of time spent working.
• Fixed-Money Mode: Workers decide the maximum time they’d work for a fixed amount of money.

Will the fixed time mode or fixed money mode lead to a happier life?