Does happiness make people more productive? Yes, say researchers at the University of Warwick and IZA. In a series of experiments, randomly selected individuals who were made happier exhibited approximately 12% greater productivity, as measured by a standardized task of correctly adding combinations of numbers for 10 minutes. In one experiment, a comedy movie clip was played to a group of subjects. Their subsequent productivity was found to be substantially greater (approximately 13%) than the control group that did not see the clip. In another experiment, the researchers gave treatment subjects chocolate, fruit, and drinks. Those subjects’ productivity was higher, by approximately 15%, than the control group’s. A fourth experiment found that subjects who had recently experienced a family tragedy, such as recent bereavement, were noticeably less happy and less productive.
Source: Happiness and Productivity
