How being busy became a badge of honor

The idea of studying "busy-ness" came to Ann Burnett at a conference in the fall of 2002. A speaker on a panel suggested that researchers should examine the "pace of life."

She ruminated on the idea — and then the flood of holiday cards came.

"In every one of them, people talked about how busy they were," she said. "That just nailed it."

Burnett, a professor at North Dakota State University, has been studying the modern fast-paced lifestyle ever since, unpacking how being busy has actually become a badge of honor. She joined MPR News host Tom Weber to talk about her research.

In the holiday letters, for example, people talked about how they were busy, how their kids were busy, how they were so busy last year they hadn't even written a letter. Everyone was busy, from the five-year-old to the retiree.

Burnett's subsequent research has shown that the drive to be busy may not be equal in men and women.

Women, she said often feel "guilt if they aren't as busy as other people, or guilt if they take any time off for themselves."

Technology isn't helping matters.

"You're just at work from 9 to 5," Burnett said. "You've got emails, and you're expected to answer emails, no matter what time it is."

To hear the full discussion on the drive to be busy with Ann Burnett, use the audio player above.