Benz, M., &Frey, B. S. (2008). The value of doing what you like: Evidence from the self-employed in 23 countries. Journal of Economic Behavior &Organization, 68(3-4), 445-455.
The self-employed are substantially more satisfied with their work than employed persons. We document this relationship for 23 countries and show that the higher job satisfaction can mainly be attributed to the more interesting jobs and to the greater autonomy that self-employed persons enjoy. ‘Doing what you like to do’ seems to provide non-pecuniary benefits from work suggesting the existence of procedural utility: interesting work ...