Most of Britain's workers are content with their job according to a study of 1,000 people.

The Work Foundation found that more than three quarters of employees said they were happy with their life and two thirds felt they had achieved their goals.

However, the independent research organisation estimated that 15% of the working population - or four million workers - are dissatisfied with their occupation.

And with about 400,000 employees earning less than �16,000 for the longest hours, income inequality has grown.

Are you happy with your job? Is money important to you or do you prefer a better quality of life? Send us your comments and stories.

This debate is now closed. Thank you for your comments.

The following comments reflect the balance of views we have received so far:

Great jobs are out there! Ben, Herts

I don't want to gloat, but I am very happy in my job. The hours are great, I'm earning the most money I have ever earned, the work is excellent and with a great group of people. Before this job, I spent 12 years working in various hotels working 90 hour weeks with horrible bosses and terrible conditions so I do feel sorry for people on this page, but remember great jobs are out there!
Ben, Herts

I came to the US to study but stayed because I couldn't leave my exciting job at Nasa. It is the best place to work. Working with bright engineers and scientists from around the world is very rewarding. I did not face discrimination being a minority in both senses (a woman from India). I have climbed up the ladder like any competent engineer and have become the Risk Manager of a billion dollar space telescope. I could have made more money somewhere else but money has never been my primary ambition. I am looking forward to the launch of our James Webb Space Telescope in 2011.
Ratnabali Day Sengupta, Greenbelt, MD, USA

I am 100% happy in my job, I have worked for the same employer for 43 years. I couldn't ask for a better, or more considerate boss. Money isn't everything but it obviously helps and I am more than happy with my lot.
Lester Stenner, Weston super Mare, UK

I work to live, I don't live to work Steve, Fleet, UK

A job is a means to an end. It pays the bills. If I had enough money, that means no mortgage, one holiday a year, kids' university loans paid etc, I would not work. I have no desire for vast riches, the taxman takes those anyway. I hoped to retire at 50 but the swindling pension companies and government have torpedoed that idea. I would like to see my children before I have to look through pebble glasses so I work on quality of life. Given I now probably have another quarter of a century to work, I'm not happy. I work to live, I don't live to work. I would like to stop at least one group of people working though, ..they are called politicians.
Steve, Fleet, UK

Would love to know who the people are they surveyed. I don't know of anyone who enjoys their job. With longer and longer hours, further to travel and lower and lower pay I cannot see any reason why someone would like their job. I have worked in the same role for 15 years. My only chance of increasing my prospects or salary is to move from employer to employer. At the moment I work in an office on my own just entering data all day. End up going home with eyestrain and shattered.
Sarah, Chester, UK

People should just remember once you are born you are basically heading for your grave, so enjoy the time you have on the planet, you don't get a second chance. It sounds obvious, but I learned that lesson by working for too many bosses who couldn't care less about me. I'm now happy as a freelance doing what I enjoy doing and being myself. I don't earn a huge sum, probably never will, but if I die with a smile on my face I know I'll have accomplished something
Gavin, London, UK

Having graduated in 2003 as a Multimedia Designer, I didn't have any luck trying to get a job in my chosen field (and I tried for a YEAR!!). Now I'm working in a call centre and it's wasting my brain away.
Anon, Swansea

The only saving grace is the wage and location Scott, Rochester, UK

Currently I hate my job, the monotony makes it tiresome. The only saving grace is the wage and location. I crave for a change but cannot afford to take time off to look for another job, interviews etc (which are not as easy to get as it seems). Roll on the lottery win I've been after.
Scott, Rochester, UK

To be honest I am not that happy. Although I have the greatest boss in the world the money isn't very good and I don't feel challenged. Also there's no scope for promotion and all I find myself doing is getting out as soon as the day's ended and having a drink.
Ed, Cardiff

The really frightening aspect of the survey is that 42% of those polled believe their most important relationships are at work. How sad is that!
Tod, Barnstaple

No, I'm not happy with my job. In fact, I'm so unhappy with it, I handed in my notice a week ago and am currently looking for a job in a different sector. The hours are long, the pay is dreadful and the demands are high. The IT industry isn't what it used to be.
Anon

I'm very happy with my job. I've worked in the same industry for 40 years. 12 years ago I left my employer and started my own company still in the same industry and have prospered ever since. Working for myself I have earned far more than I would ever have done working for an employer. I now employ others, not very many and highly specialised, who all earn well above the �16k you quote. Money is important to me because it has enabled me to improve my quality of life. There does not have to be a trade off against each other, you can have both if you work hard for it. Too many expect both for too little effort.
Terry, Epsom, England

I find my work to be much less stimulating than before Jools, UK

I hate my job. I have no concerns about the pay but I was transferred to another site meaning a 2 hour commute each day which can only be achieved by car. I find this particularly stressful in winter months and cannot afford a move closer to work as house prices have rocketed in recent years. I find my work to be much less stimulating than before as I have moved to a smaller workplace which is less creative. I know I must change jobs soon as it will be only to easy to slide into a rut and take the money each month.
Jools, UK

Working, for me, is just financing a lifestyle I wish to maintain. I don't love my job, I don't wake up on a morning skipping to work, I do it to live a good life. I don't work for that golden salary, I don't push myself to follow a career that I know one day I'll hate. I much prefer earning enough to make me happy. Enough to have a couple of late deal holidays a year, a few bevvies down the boozer with my mates on the weekend and maintaining my house and having quality of life. I much prefer this than to be sat in an excessively paid job with an impressive job title, working way too many hours, getting stressed with the workload and having very little time to enjoy life!
Kaz, Manchester, UK

Work sucks. It simply pays the bills. Anyone who wins the lottery and says they will continue to work should be forced to give the money back.
Guy Heaton, Rugby UK

I've experienced both the good and that bad. In my previous job I had to take several months off work due to work related stress. Luckily my employers were supportive and helped me change departments. My new job is both challenging and rewarding. To anyone in similar circumstances: if your doctor starts prescribing medication just so you can face going to work, you definitely need to think about getting another job!
Anonymous, NE England

There are usually other factors that impact whether you like your job Wendy, UK

There is no perfect job. You either have one that pays well but you have to sell your soul for, or you do something you love and get paid pittance. Having said that there are usually other factors that impact whether you like your job - who you work with, how short your commute is, how nice the office is.
Wendy, UK

I'm happy enough in my job but if I was financially self-sufficient I'd quit tomorrow.
Chris, West Yorkshire

I love my job - I'm a university research scientist. I work flexible hours, there's no formal dress code and relations between senior and junior staff are usually good. Most important of all, the work is difficult and challenging, so it's rewarding when it works. There's a bit too much red-tape and the pay could be better, but you can't have everything.
Peter, Nottingham

I like my work and I am lucky to have a good boss. However, if I could afford to retire now at 46 and pursue things that really interest me, I would do so without a second's hesitation. Work is the tool that allows me to enjoy the non-working part of my life. I think "happy" is the wrong word, "satisfied" would be better.
Julie Gooding, Manchester, England

I would love to work in the field in which I did my two degrees. Unfortunately there are no available jobs and no PhD funding, therefore I have to take lower-paid admin-type jobs for which I am overqualified yet not trained to do. I am also unable to use my skills and knowledge, which is a waste. This does not make me happy in my job.
Jennifer, Cambridge, UK

My job itself is fine. It's the people I have to come into contact with everyday that are the problem.
Hans, Chessington, England

A balance has to be reached generally, and I believe it's better to work to live, rather than live to work. I've just finished 5 long years at 3 different universities to become a corporate lawyer, and I can't wait. Obviously it's made more palatable by the huge salary and great perks. Still, I'm expecting a 70+ hour week.
Anon, London

Job's good, amount of work is not.
Gerry, UK

I hate my job and take no pleasure from it whatsoever. Basically it is a waste of potential social time. However most importantly it pays the bills. I can't wait to retire, although if Labour get their way I'll have to wait 30 years!
Keith, UK

I hate to say this (as I am from a very small minority), but I am incredibly happy with my job as an IT Engineer. As a person who loves to travel, mess about with computers and meet loads of different people, I get all this and a pretty reasonable wage for it. In the last couple of years, I've visited several European cities and even the US on the company expenses - not much I can see bad in that. Sure, I could probably earn more as a desk jockey, but I'd sacrifice everything else - not for me, mate!
CB, UK