U. of Michigan, Ross School of Business, United States
While prior research and conventional wisdom from wellness experts and work-life balance advocates often cast busyness in a negative light, many people choose to be busy, and often by their own choice. To explore this puzzle, I conducted a multistudy investigation. In Study 1, I carried out a qualitative study of 39 entrepreneurs to gain insight into their experiences of busyness. Through an inductive analysis, I identified the phenomenon of self-imposed busyness, which I define as the extent to which individuals, of their own volition, choose to occupy themselves with work-related tasks during times when they could otherwise take breaks or rest. I also found that engaging in self-imposed busyness is associated with decreased anxiety. Building on these qualitative insights, I adopted a psychodynamic perspective to develop a conceptual model examining the positive effects of self-imposed busyness. I then tested my model in two online experiments (Studies 2A and 2B). My findings reveal that self-imposed busyness positively impacts employee flourishing by reducing anxiety. Together, my theory and findings challenge the prevailing view that busyness is universally detrimental, offering valuable insights into how, when, and why self-imposed busyness can yield positive outcomes.
