This study investigates why and where self-employment is related to higher levels of eudaimonic well-being. We focus on meaningfulness as an important eudaimonic process and subjective vitality as a eudaimonic well-being outcome that is central to entrepreneurs' proactivity. Building on self-determination theory, we posit that self-employment, relative to wage-employment, is a more self-determined and volitional career choice, which enhances the experience of meaningfulness at work and perceptions of work autonomy. In a multi-level study of 22,002 individuals and 16 European countries, meaningfulness at work mediates the relationship between self-employment and subjective vitality and explains this relationship better than work autonomy. We identify moderating effects of context: the societal legitimacy of entrepreneurship in a country affects the choice set of alternative career options that individuals can consider and thus shapes the experience of meaningfulness at work and work autonomy, and thereby indirectly subjective vitality. These findings expand our understanding of eudaimonic well-being, entrepreneurs' work, and the role of context in entrepreneurship and well-being research. They complement existing research on hedonic well-being of entrepreneurs and extend the scarce literature on their eudaimonic well-being.

中文翻译：

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自谋职业和幸福感：以意义为动力，以社会合法性为动力

这项研究调查了自营职业与更高水平的 eudaimonic 幸福感相关的原因和位置。我们将意义作为一个重要的幸福过程，将主观活力作为对企业家积极性至关重要的幸福结果。基于自决理论，我们假设自雇，相对于工资就业，是一种更加自主和自愿的职业选择，它增强了工作意义的体验和工作自主性的感知。在一项对 22,002 个人和 16 个欧洲国家的多层次研究中，工作的意义在自营职业和主观活力之间起到中介作用，并且比工作自主性更好地解释了这种关系。我们确定了上下文的调节作用：一个国家创业的社会合法性影响个人可以考虑的替代职业选择的选择集，从而塑造工作意义和工作自主性的体验，从而间接影响主观活力。这些发现扩展了我们对 eudaimonic 幸福感、企业家工作以及背景在创业和幸福感研究中的作用的理解。它们补充了关于企业家享乐幸福的现有研究，并扩展了关于他们的幸福幸福的稀缺文献。以及背景在创业和福祉研究中的作用。它们补充了关于企业家享乐幸福的现有研究，并扩展了关于他们的幸福幸福的稀缺文献。以及背景在创业和福祉研究中的作用。它们补充了关于企业家享乐幸福的现有研究，并扩展了关于他们的幸福幸福的稀缺文献。