New Study Shows Money Does Buy Happiness

January is a time for New Year’s resolutions. Around the world, people are getting new gym memberships, buying healthy food and maybe putting some money away in hopes of being happier in 2014. But new research shows there’s one surefire way to be more satisfied -- be the boss.

A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center shows that people in management positions seem to be happier with their work and home lives than their non-management counterparts. Not shockingly, job satisfaction was one of the more striking differences. Less than half of the regular-level workers polled by Pew said they saw their current job as their career, while nearly a quarter said they were actively looking for a new position. Meanwhile, just 12 percent of bosses were job-hunting and nearly 78 percent felt they were in their ideal career.

Considering they’ve likely been promoted at least a few times, bosses sounded more optimistic about their own skills. About two-thirds of them felt they had a significant level of education and training, and 62 percent felt they were paid fairly for their work. Workers are less satisfied. Just 57 percent feel they are well-prepared and only 54 percent think they are paid enough.

Politically speaking, the vast majority of people in charge identify as Republican while workers are more likely to be Democrats.

While they don’t agree on politics, religion seems to be a far-reaching trend. Both groups approached the topic of faith with equal amounts of fervor and indifference. About a third of respondents in both groups said they attended religious services on a weekly basis. Similarly, about a fifth of each group described their religious affiliation as “nothing in particular.”

More research shows that ambitious Millennials have a long way to go -- just four percent of respondents said they were in top management positions while 16 percent of Gen Xers and 17 percent of Baby Boomers said the same.

In terms of home and family life, everyone is pretty content, but the bosses are just a tad more so. Overall, 83 percent of bosses said they were “very satisfied” with their family situation. Only 74 percent of regular workers felt the same way.