does working make you unhappy or happy? the answer: it depends. toiling away at a job you hate may eat away at your happiness over time. but overall, being unemployed is worse for your state of mind than being employedat least, that is, if youre a guy.

the pew research center found that the percentage of men who said they were very happy was significantly lower for unemployed men (16 percent) than for employed men (37 percent). unemployment had little impact on womens happiness.the pew researchers speculate that this is because more women than men are unemployed by choice, although the study didnt attempt to tease apart that difference.chris peterson, a happiness researcher at the university of michigan, suspects there are other factors at play as well. other studies have found that if a man loses his job, it can have both short-term and long-term psychological effects, even if he finds another job with equal salary, he says. for women its not unemployment that leads to unhappiness, but divorce.

in addition, peterson stresses that money matters less than youd think. the engaged custodian is more likely to be happy than the independently wealthy, unengaged millionaire, he says. we didnt evolve to be retired and sit on the couch.