longer, smarter, and more effectively. Happiness can lead people to experience intense effort and long
hours as less unpleasant and more enjoyable, set more challenging goals, and think more quickly,
flexibly, and broadly about problems. One study even showed that when physicians were put in a
happier mood, they made faster and more accurate diagnoses. Overall, on average, happier people
earn more money, get higher performance ratings, make better decisions, negotiate sweeter deals, and
contribute more to their organizations. Happiness alone accounts for about 10 percent of the variation
between employees in job performance. By boosting happiness, giving might have motivated Jon
Huntsman Sr. to work harder and smarter, helping him build up his fortune.
Huntsman is not the only influential businessperson who has come to view giving as a source of
energy. In 2003, Virgin mogul Richard Branson set up a council called The Elders to fight conflict and
promote peace, bringing together Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu, and
other leaders to alleviate suffering in Sudan, Cyprus, and Kenya. In 2004, Branson launched Virgin
Unite, a nonprofit foundation that mobilizes people and resources to fight deadly diseases like AIDS
and malaria, promote peace and justice, prevent climate change, and support entrepreneurs with
microloans and new jobs in the developing world. In 2006, he pledged to donate all $3 billion of the
profits from the Virgin airline and train businesses over the next decade to fight global warming. In
2007, he offered a $25 million prize for innovations to fight climate change. Was this string of events
caused by a midlife crisis?
Actually, Branson was giving long before he became rich and famous. At age seventeen, a year
after starting Student magazine and five full years before launching Virgin Records, Branson started
his first charity. It was the Student Advisory Centre, a nonprofit organization that helped at-risk youth
with a range of services. He made a list of problems that young people faced, from unwanted
pregnancies to venereal disease, and convinced doctors to offer free or discounted services. He spent
many nights on the phone at three A.M. consoling people who were contemplating suicide. Looking
back, he notes that early in his career, he “had been interested in making money only to ensure
Student’s continuing success and to fund the Student Advisory Centre.” Today, giving continues to
energize him. The “thing that gets me up in the morning is the idea of making a difference,” Branson
writes, “to help safeguard our future on this planet. Does that make me successful? It certainly makes
me happy.”
These energizing effects help to explain why otherish givers are fortified against burnout: through
giving, they build up reserves of happiness and meaning that takers and matchers are less able to
access. Selfless givers use up these reserves, exhausting themselves and often dropping to the bottom
of the success ladder. By giving in ways that are energizing rather than exhausting, otherish givers are
more likely to rise to the top. In two studies of employees in a wide range of jobs and organizations,
psychologist David Mayer and I found that otherish employees made more sustainable contributions
than the selfless givers, takers, or matchers. Employees who reported strong concern for benefiting
others and creating a positive image for themselves were rated by supervisors as being the most
helpful and taking the most initiative.
Ironically, because concern for their own interests sustains their energy, otherish givers actually
give more than selfless givers. This is what the late Herbert Simon, winner of the Nobel Prize in
economics, observed in the quote that opened this chapter. Otherish givers may appear less altruistic
than selfless givers, but their resilience against burnout enables them to contribute more.
michael s
(Michael S)
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