In the growing field of happiness research, one thing is overwhelmingly clear. People who are socially engaged are more likely to be happy—and less likely to be depressed—than those who aren't.
In fact, Time Magazine poll found that the four most significant sources of happiness—children (77 percent), friendships (76 percent), contributing to the lives of others (75 percent), and spouse/partner (73 percent)—all involved spending meaningful time with other people.
The problem: “We're so caught up with extraordinary work burdens, we don't have time to enjoy the people we love or contribute to the lives of others,” says Post.
That time crunch is quite real, says John de Graaf, president of the public policy organization Take Back Your Time. “Compared to 30 years ago, the average family now spends an extra 500 hours per year working outside the home.”
We're also spending more time getting to work and back.
“Traffic is getting worse and we're not investing in mass transit,” says de Graaf. “Most of the data I've seen shows that we've doubled our average commute times in the past generation.”
Obviously, it depends on where you live—and where you work. Those most impacted: affluent families who chose even larger homes over living closer to work, and younger families who are priced out of homes of any size closer to centers of employment.