12 November 2011
It is often thought that entrepreneurs have greater job satisfaction than employees. Independence means greater satisfaction. However, this is not the whole truth.
Researchers at Turku School of Economics' TSE Entre unit have studied the links between work and well-being at different stages of a person's lifecycle. They began by discovering whether employees and self-employed people have a different view of these connections.
‒ Entrepreneurship is often considered different state of existence to work. In reality, the different stages of employees' and entrepreneurs' careers overlap and proceed in parallel. Careers are limitless, growing in a portfolio fashion, observes Research Director Ulla Hytti.
The connections between work, entrepreneurship and well-being are being researched in Turku School of Economics, as part of the WORK programme of the Academy of Finland. The focus is on job satisfaction.
‒ Satisfaction is essential, for example to extending working lives. Job satisfaction has an effect on how long a worker wishes to continue, says Academy Researcher Teemu Kautonen.
Earlier research suggests that entrepreneurs are more satisfied with their work than employees. A recent study reveals that, when examining the variability and meaningfulness of tasks, and in terms of receiving feedback, entrepreneurs are no longer self-evidently more satisfied than employees.
‒ Job content is the most significant factor in job satisfaction. A worker's role in the labour market is not a sufficient measure of job satisfaction, Hytti explains.
Passing on positive effects
In its contribution to the WORK project, TSE Entre also examines the relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction. In this case, factors expand to include issues such as health and combining work, family and leisure.
The results indicate that different areas in life do not remain separate, but affect each other. The researchers refer to this as spilling over.
‒ We are particularly interested in positive spill-overs. The happier you are with your family life, the more positive your work appears to be. This especially seems to be the case with entrepreneurs, whose boundaries between work and family are fading anyway, Hytti explains.
Meanwhile, the relationship between leisure time and job satisfaction seems particularly important to young employees. The effect, however, is the opposite.
‒ The more satisfied one is with one's leisure time, the less satisfaction work provides, the researchers observe.