brian's blog

Why Hourly Wage Earners Are Happier Than Salaried Workers

Posted Fri, 03/19/2010 - 13:04


Money may not equal happiness, but it's pretty safe to assume that most workers out there tend to like it quite a bit.

While it's obvious that our job satisfaction often coincides with the amount of money we make, something that hasn't been so clear is how the way we earn that money affects us as employees. A recent study found that the relationship between money and happiness is stronger for people paid hourly because they're more often reminded of how much they earn.

Landing a job won't solve everything

Posted Mon, 03/15/2010 - 10:29


If you've been unemployed for a long period of time finally finding that job should make you unequivocally happy.

Wrong!

In these tough economic times it seems more and more that finding a job doesn't alleviate those constant worries but in fact may do the opposite. Anxiety and stress levels can actually increase in individuals who have recently found positions after long periods of unemployment.

Yeah, it's bad.

Posted Mon, 03/15/2010 - 10:26

This graph shows how employment has declined over the last 6 recessions. In case you were wondering that dark blue line is our current recession.

Ouch.

Happy Employee = Productive Employee? Not necessarily!

Posted Mon, 03/15/2010 - 10:24


This idea is used so often that it might as well be a law of management. If you keep your employees happy they will be motivated to work harder.

While this may seem to be an obvious conclusion, the problem may be in a misplaced correlation. Perhaps it is not the happy employee that creates the motivated worker but the motivated employee who creates the happy worker.

Need job advice? Follow Coco!

Posted Mon, 03/15/2010 - 10:24


For those of you who recently got laid off and now face the dismal employment market, there is someone I'd like to introduce you to.

Conan O'Brien

Despite his hefty severance package, Conan O'Brien is in fact currently unemployed. Yet in his example all job seekers can learn something essential to any job search.

The value of staying visible.