Job got you down ? Consider starting your own business.
Self-employed adults are significantly happier with their work than other individuals. They’re also more likely to work because they enjoy it, not just for a paycheck.
Those are the findings of a new Pew Research poll released last week.
In late July, Pew asked 1,040 people a simple question: Are you satisfied with your job?
Among the 254 who described themselves as self-employed, 39 percent said they were “completely satisfied.” Only 28 percent of others described themselves that way.
Thirty-eight percent of those who work for themselves said they work because they need the money, versus 50 percent of those who work for someone else.
So what’s the downside of self-employment? Well, it’s certainly not money.
Self-employed men and women have virtually identical family incomes as other workers, but they also feel more financial stress, Pew says.
The median income of self-employed workers in 2008 was about $35,357 — only a few hundred dollars more than the earnings of wage and salary workers. Yet, about 40 percent of self-employed people say they just make ends meet or fall short, compared with fewer than 33 percent of wage and salary employees.
