Chasing happiness: Are entrepreneurs happy?

Mojca Svetek  |  13 March 2024

Many people believe that happiness is the ultimate goal of human existence and the driver of any human action. March 20th was declared the International Day of Happiness by the United Nations in 2012, underscoring the idea that happiness is a universal aspiration in the lives of all. If happiness is indeed the ultimate goal, can entrepreneurship be considered a pathway to its attainment?

In this episode, we are uncovering:

  • What makes entrepreneurship both stressful and fulfilling;
  • Whether entrepreneurs enjoy higher well-being than employees;
  • What drives entrepreneurs’ well-being;
  • How transitions from paid employment to entrepreneurship affect well-being.

Research articles:

  • Disabato, D. J., Goodman, F. R., Kashdan, T. B., Short, J. L., & Jarden, A. (2016). Different types of well-being? A cross-cultural examination of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Psychological Assessment, 28(5), 471.
  • Hanglberger, D., & Merz, J. (2015). Does self-employment really raise job satisfaction? Adaptation and anticipation effects on self-employment and general job changes. Journal for Labour Market Research, 48(4), 287-303.
  • Hsu, D. K., Shinnar, R. S., & Anderson, S. E. (2019). ‘I wish I had a regular job’: An exploratory study of entrepreneurial regret. Journal of Business Research, 96, 217-227.
  • Lange, T. (2012). Job satisfaction and self-employment: Autonomy or personality? Small Business Economics, 38, 165-177.
  • Lanivich, S. E., Bennett, A., Kessler, S. R., McIntyre, N., & Smith, A. W. (2021). RICH with well-being: An entrepreneurial mindset for thriving in early-stage entrepreneurship. Journal of business research, 124, 571-580.
  • Lerman, M. P., Munyon, T. P., & Williams, D. W. (2021). The (not so) dark side of entrepreneurship: A meta‐analysis of the well‐being and performance consequences of entrepreneurial stress. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 15(3), 377-402.
  • Marshall, D. R., Meek, W. R., Swab, R. G., & Markin, E. (2020). Access to resources and entrepreneurial well-being: A self-efficacy approach. Journal of Business Research, 120, 203-212.
  • McMullen, J. S., & Dimov, D. (2013). Time and the entrepreneurial journey: The problems and promise of studying entrepreneurship as a process. Journal of Management Studies, 50(8), 1481-1512.
  • Nikolova, M. (2019). Switching to self-employment can be good for your health. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(4), 664-691.
  • Patel, P. C., Wolfe, M. T., & Williams, T. A. (2018). Self-employment and allostatic load. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(4), 731–751.
  • Shir, N., Nikolaev, B. N., & Wincent, J. (2019). Entrepreneurship and well-being: The role of psychological autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(5), 105875.
  • Shu, S., Wang, Y., Kang, H., Wu, C. H., & Arenius, P. (2023). Understanding the role of job quality in the association of employees’ career change to self-employment and job satisfaction. Personnel Review, 52(1), 288-303.
  • Stephan, U., Rauch, A., & Hatak, I. (2023). Happy entrepreneurs? Everywhere? A meta-analysis of entrepreneurship and wellbeing. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 47(2), 553-593.
  • Stephan, U., Tavares, S. M., Carvalho, H., Ramalho, J. J., Santos, S. C., & Van Veldhoven, M. (2020). Self-employment and eudaimonic well-being: Energized by meaning, enabled by societal legitimacy. Journal of Business Venturing, 35(6), 106047.