Happiness is a bonus for paid-by-the-hour workers

Becoming a contract, or paid-by-the-hour, worker may boost overall job satisfaction, as such workers tend to be more focused on their pay-cheque, and the money that is due them:

Researchers explored the relationship between income and happiness by focusing on the organizational arrangements that make the connection between time and money. They found that the way in which an employee is paid is tied to their feeling of happiness. The researchers theorize that hourly wage-earners focus more attention on their pay than those who earn a salary. That concrete, consistent focus on the worth of the employee’s time in each paycheck influences the level of happiness the employee feels.

Presumably permanent, or salaried, workers are left to contemplate endless days at the face of the grindstone.