New York, Dec 23 (IANS): What do you expect most from your job? A handsome pay packet, most would say. No?

Strangely, in a new study by the Pew Research Centre, money doesn't necessarily buy happiness for most employees.

Nearly 45 percent of surveyed people across the job spectrum in the US said the greatest professional priority for them is to do the work they enjoy the most while one-third considered job security, work-life balance and good benefits equally valuable.

Employees in the first decades of their working lives place more importance on opportunities for growth than do employees at or near the peak of their careers, the study, published in BusinessNewsDaily, added.

"Younger workers, who are at the time of their lives when most people marry and start raising a family, are also more likely to place a greater priority on values related to family and children," said Pew researchers.

The study, carried on 2,000 participants, also found that there are more gender differences among men and women regarding their desires to be in charge. Specifically, 52 percent of men, compared to 38 percent of women, aspire to be a boss one day.

The study revealed a similar pattern emerges when children are considered. Fathers are more likely than mothers to seek a top executive job, regardless of whether they have children younger than age 18, the study said.

The study also discovered that baby boomers are the least likely generation interested in being managers.