Work
Work is another major realm of life that needs to be understood in terms of social and psychological
processes as well as neurological ones. You may think of work as something to avoid, but research
indicates that many people obtain satisfaction from their jobs, even mundane ones. Some people even
prefer work activities to nonwork ones such as leisure and home life. Paid work can provide many
benefits, including money, enjoyable activities, social contact, and goals that are engaging and
challenging. Rewarding jobs tend to have such characteristics as opportunity for personal control,
opportunity for using skills, variety of tasks, being respected, high status, interpersonal contact, and
good pay.
One of the purposes of working is to obtain the money one needs to live, but working is not just
about income. High income does correlate with happiness and well-being as I mentioned above, but
the relation between them is complex. People rank happiness and satisfaction as more important than
money. In the last fifty years, American income adjusted for inflation has climbed steadily, with no
change in life satisfaction. Wealthy nations tend to be happier than poorer ones, but the differences
are small once a basic level of income is achieved. The richest Americans have a high level of life
satisfaction, but theirs is not a great deal higher than that of people with middle incomes, and no
higher than that of the Pennsylvania Amish, who lead very simple lives. Hence there seems to be no
reason to adopt money as a major goal in itself, so work is not just a reason to make money. One
complicating factor may be that happiness does not depend on absolute amount of wealth, but rather
on how you are doing compared to others. People who are unemployed are significantly unhappier
than those who are employed or retired. Some of the reasons for this may be social and financial, but
I think there are other cognitive-emotional reasons why work can contribute to happiness.
The brain-based theory of emotions and goals in chapters 5 and 6 helps to explain why work can
sometimes be highly satisfying. Goal setting affects both job satisfaction and job performance. Goals
serve to direct attention, mobilize effort, increase persistence, and motivate strategy development.
Goal setting is most effective when the goals people accept are specific, challenging, within their
ability, and accompanied by feedback, rewards, and social support. Under these conditions, goals can
possess the positive emotional values represented in the brain through association with areas such as
the dopamine system, so that their accomplishment and, to a lesser extent, their anticipation can be
rewarded by pleasurable experiences.