New York: Despite working longer hours and having less time off, business owners are 50 percent more satisfied with their jobs than those who work for others, according to a new study.

While business owners spend nearly twice as much time as employees thinking of work when outside the office, they are also three times more likely to report satisfaction with their jobs, the study found.

The survey of 2,000 business owners and employees in the UK by AXA Business Insurance found that business owners reported that their biggest motivator for working hard was to learn and challenge themselves, whereas employees cited money as their key driver, BusinessNewsDaily reported.

However, owning a business also comes with a lot of extra stress, the survey suggested. Those who own businesses were more likely than employees to report a feeling of regular or constant pressure at work.

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Whereas employees cited their bosses as the biggest cause of stress, business owners reported being stressed out most by customers.

Even though business owners were just as likely as employees to find time for family, they were far less likely to take more than three weeks of vacation a year.

But despite the added stresses reported by business owners, the survey suggested that working for oneself means greater happiness and satisfaction with life in general.

The study found business owners to be 50 percent more contented and happy with their lives than their employees.

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