People Who Spend Their Weekends Sleeping In, Eating & Being Lazy Are Way Happier For One Main Reason

A study highlighted by happiness researcher Cassie Holmes argues that people are happier when they treat weekends like a vacation rather than a regular break. In a Harvard Business Review article, Holmes described 2017 research involving more than 400 working Americans. Participants were told on Friday to either view the weekend as vacation time or handle it like any other weekend, then were measured for happiness after returning to work. The “vacation mindset” group reported greater satisfaction and positivity. Holmes linked this to reduced stress about Monday without adding extra time off or spending money. She said the experiment also altered behaviors such as doing less housework and staying in bed longer, but that the increased happiness was tied to mindset shifts. The article cites a Pew Research Center August 2023 survey showing 46% of U.S. paid-time-off users took less time than provided.