Self-Employment Might Be the Answer to Boosting Your Satisfaction
Jack Powers
Professor White
Journalism 100
12 December 2023
Self-Employment Might Be the Answer to Boosting Your Satisfaction
Skyhawk View Staff Reporter
By Jack Powers
After working in the fine dining industry, Andy Johnson feels that the food does not meet his needs of unique culinary and exotic flavors experiences. Since he was unhappy with the lack of menu variety at his current place of employment, he contemplated opening his own restaurant. Ultimately, Johnson decided to open a restaurant to ensure a variety of dishes for his community to have as well as rich flavors popping in peoples’ mouths.
“I just couldn’t keep doing the same job for years knowing I could do it better and get paid more if I opened my own restaurant,” said Johnson.
Johnson reported increased satisfaction after leaving his place of employment and working for himself.
This association between self-employment and satisfaction inspired a deep dive into the benefits of owning your own business.
According to the 2023 study, “Self-employed people in the U.S. are more likely than other workers to be highly satisfied with their jobs” by the Pew Research Center, more self-employed workers are satisfied with their job compared with people who work for companies.
More specifically, it reports that 62% of self-employed workers say, “they are extremely or very satisfied with their job, compared with 51% of those who are not self-employed.” 
Assessing the double bar chart, the data shows a vivid picture showing 65% of self-employed workers finding their jobs more enjoyable and fulfilling. This is a significant difference compared to the contrast of 50% and 47% who are not self-employed.
Adding on to that result, it is also shown that people feel less stressed and overwhelmed with their job when they are self-employed. The double bar chart displays that only 15% and 8% of self-employed are stressed or overwhelmed compared to the 29% and 19% of people who are also stressed or overwhelmed except they work for corporations.
“Most self-employed workers (62%) say they are extremely or very satisfied with their job, compared with 51% of those who are not self-employed. They also express higher levels of enjoyment and fulfillment with their job.” (Pew Research Center)
Adding to the topic of Self Employment Satisfaction being higher, according to the article that Pew Research Center published, more than half those self-employed from the study said they work regular hours. 52% of people who work for themselves do not have to work outside their normal hours of work. Self-employed workers have more time to hang out with their family and friends, do more things that they want to do. This is a substantial difference from people who are not self-employed, which is only 28%.
Dr. Clay Dibrell, a professor of management, chair in entrepreneurship, and co-director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Mississippi, he said that most people who want to go into this field of business usually have optimistic and psychological satisfactions. Psychological satisfaction is a measurement of where your life is and where you want your life to be.
Dr. Dibrell started his career as a Strategic Management Major and Minoring in International Business at the University of Memphis Tennessee. He graduated in 1990 and furthered his education, he ended up getting PH.D. in 2000. After ending his time at school Dr. Dibrell got married and began trading and selling luxury watches because his wife's family worked in that industry as a side hustle, his favorite watch was a Seiko Solar.
While he was trading and selling watches, he began a career as a volunteer small business adviser, then at Oregon State he started as an Assistant Professor of Strategic Management. As he furthered his career, he was asked to create an entrepreneurship program in 2013. Dr. Dibrell then started his new position as Wm. W. Gresham, Jr. Entrepreneurial Lecturer and Associate Professor of Management for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Dr. Dibrell moved up the ladder from there and is currently a Professor of Management, Chair in Entrepreneurship, and Co-Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Mississippi.
While holding all these different titles, Dr. Dibrell has written a lot of academic journals. As of today, he has published over 40 different academic journals about Management and Entrepreneurship. Dr. Dibrell said that he never thought he would become a professor of Entrepreneurship, but he loves It.
He said, “I love seeing new students with creative ideas of their own and the satisfactory of one day being able to achieve their dreams.”
When going more in depth with it he said that most people begin the major because they accomplished something in their own life that they never thought they could.
The paths of Johnson and Dr. Dibrell are very similar in a way where both of their ideas weave together creating passion and resilience to make them what they are today, entrepreneurs. As Johnson continues on to his culinary talents in creating his own dishes by drawing inspiration from the flavors he craved in fine dining, he embodies the journey of creating a small business and his dream job just like Dr. Dibrell.
Dr. Dibrell's wisdom resonates through Johnson's determination, both in guidance through challenges of their chosen fields. While Dr. Dibrell found his entrepreneurial ambitions through luxury watches, Johnson found his through culinary creation, but both ended up in the same place of owning and operating their own businesses and are both very satisfied in their personal life. You might even say that they are more satisfied now that they are their own boss.
In a world where flavors converge and stories unfold, the legacy of Johnson and Dr. Dibrell exemplifies the true meaning of entrepreneurship. Both of these people are testaments, and create their own unique narrative of passion, perseverance, and the profound joy that comes with creating something uniquely their own.
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