WASHINGTON — New research suggests your sex life might impact job satisfaction.
A multiweek study of 159 married couples surveyed three times daily finds that on days after having sex, people reported higher levels of positive mood, higher job engagement and higher job satisfaction according to researchers at Oregon State University.
“And we found that the effect was the same for both men and women,” said Keith Leavitt, associate professor of organizational behavior and business ethics at Oregon State University.
Leavitt notes that sex releases dopamine, which is associated with reward centers in the brain, as well as a neuropeptide associated with social bonding and attachment.
“Humans are animals at heart, and we have these physiological drives and needs. By attending to those, it can be a strategy for helping us perform in the other aspects of our lives too.”
Leavitt said the study used questions from basic job surveys published within management literature. People were asked to respond to statements such as: I really felt engrossed in what I was doing today. I felt like I was able to get a lot done. I felt encompassed in the task I was engaging in.
People feeling “checked in” at work, leads to higher job satisfaction and other positive outcomes such as better performance, Leavitt said.
“So, the message for employees is — if you want to be engaged in your work and you want to be getting more out of it, make sure you’re attending to that part of your home life,” Leavitt said.
Conversely, Leavitt said, managers will only serve their own interests by encouraging employees to disengage from work when not on the clock.
“We found when people bring work-related strains home with them, that cuts into employee sex lives,” Leavitt said. That can negatively impact work “in terms of reduced engagement [and] reduced job satisfaction the next day.”
