Chores Make Men Happier

Researchers at Cambridge University may have just discovered the secret to happiness, at least for men: Do more chores. Men from seven European countries were found to have an improved sense of well-being and work-life balance, as well as less work-life conflict, if they helped more around the house, the Telegraph reports. Researchers were expecting women to be happier when their partners shouldered more of the load, but found that it made basically no difference to them.

The findings are based on data from the European Social Survey, which asked participants about quality of life as well as how much time they spent on various tasks. One of the researchers notes that the men who help with chores could simply have quieter lives, because their partners are not complaining as much. "Times are changing," she says, and as gender equality becomes the norm, husbands who don't pitch in likely experience "more family conflict." (More happiness stories.)