Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce Business Journal Q1 2015 | Page 48

MExpanding
Your Influence
MVolunteering Makes You Happier – Here’s Why
While there are many factors that lead to happiness, research proves that
volunteering definitely makes people happier (and even healthier).
By: Kristin Wong, Fox Business
So why does volunteering make you happier?
Research shows that volunteering will help you live longer, and that should be cause enough to make you happy.
But there are other reasons as to why volunteering makes you happier… here are 3 leading theories as to why:
1. Giving Time Makes You Feel That You Have More Time
“Not having enough time” is considered one of the biggest stressors and detractors of happiness. However, the
feeling of having more time lower stress.
A long line of empirical research, including one study of over 2,000 people, has shown that acts of altruism—giving
to friends and strangers alike—decrease stress and strongly contribute to enhanced mental health.
While not necessarily intuitive, giving your time to others will likely benefit you as much as any other party. A study
from Harvard Wharton, and Yale, ‘Giving Times Gives You Time‘, summarizes the benefits nicely:
Happier people give more and giving makes people happier, such that happiness and giving may operate in a
positive feedback loop (with happier people giving more, getting happier, and giving even more).
Counter-intuitive as it may be, volunteering increases your perception of how much time you have, and lowers your
stress in the process.
2. Volunteering Creates Social Bonds That Make You Feel Loved
Social relationships are described as ‘perhaps’ the ‘greatest single cause’ of happiness. - Michael Argyle, The
Psychology of Happiness
In 1943, Maslow released his groundbreaking research that we now know as the “Hierarchy of Needs”. In it, he
hypothesized that after safety, the thing that people need most is “Emotional Belonging.”

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Expanding Your Influence