Good News for Employees Everywhere

When you win that lottery tomorrow, you’ll quit your job, right? You might want to revisit that decision. A new study from the American Sociological Association has some good news for worker bees everywhere.

"Although people who work give up some independence, the study found that being employed does lead to better health," says lead study author John Mirowksy, sociology professor with the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. "One thing that surprised us was that the daily activities of employed persons are more creative than those of non-employed persons of the same sex, age, and level of education."

And why is creativity important? Because, says Mirowsky, "the health advantage of being somewhat above average in creative work [in the 60th percentile] versus being somewhat below average [in the 40th percentile] is equal to being 6.7 years younger."

It is also equal to having two more years of education or 15 times greater household income, Mirowsky adds.

In other words, a little creative employment each day makes you healthier, wealthier, and wiser.

For more on the study, click here. (Thanks to our intern Lindsay Nigro for finding this sociology report.)

For a little further work-related inspiration, read our earlier story, "Daydreaming with Fortune Magazine."