Money can buy a ‘peace’ of happiness, not the cake
As adages go, ‘Money can’t buy happiness’ is probably one of the most controversial ones out there. Advocates of that line of thinking claim that loving relationships, meaningful work and powerful passions provide more happiness than big bucks in the bank. They believe that once your basic needs are met, increased income and luxury goods do little to boost your mental state. The sceptics on the other side of the fence argue that money is always related to greater happiness, since it guarantees comfort and peace of mind.
A 2023 study introduced a new twist in the tale: this found that more money certainly makes happy people happier, but makes unhappy people only marginally less unhappy. That would suggest that happiness lies in your genes and people are born happy or unhappy.
Since it’s difficult to change genetics, let’s put happiness away for a while and talk about life satisfaction. In my mind, that’s as precious as happiness and less fleeting.
According to the American National Academy of Sciences, people who invest in time-saving services report greater life satisfaction than those who don’t—regardless of their economic status. That makes sense. Better jobs and pay packets may have given many of us easier access to money but they’ve certainly robbed us of our time. By working and commuting longer hours than ever before, we are unable to spend as much time as we’d like with the people we love and on the things and activities we value.
Services that free up the time we used to spend on doing tedious or repetitive work that gave us no joy are, therefore, like manna from heaven. Yes, they may cost a little extra money but the advantages they provide by way of convenience and time saved are matchless. Little wonder that across India, in cities big and small, people are embracing food delivery services such as Zomato and Swiggy, home improvement services like Urban Company and grocery shopping apps such as Blinkit and Big Basket with open arms.
But Japan seems to have gone a step further. Looking to avoid unpleasantness and harassment, an increasing number of Japanese employees are hiring agencies that can help them quit their jobs.
Apparently, trying to leave a company can be tricky in Japan, where employers see it as a form of disrespect and sometimes respond by tearing up resignation letters or showing up at the employee’s home to badger them if they express a desire to quit. This is particularly terrifying for quiet or timid employees who value their peace of mind and want to avoid conflict at all costs.
The industry existed before Covid too. But its popularity has reportedly grown after the lockdown, which gave people time and opportunity to reflect on and review their jobs and presumably find them wanting.
The resignation agencies—one of whom is called Momuri or ‘I can’t do this anymore’ in Japanese—help unhappy employees craft their resignation letters, tell them their rights, negotiate on their behalf with the employers and even suggest lawyers if things get litigious—all for a small fee.
In this case, I guess, money does buy happiness. Or, at least, mental peace.
Shampa Dhar-Kamath
Delhi-based writer, editor and communication coach
shampadhar@gmail.com