Rising inflation and the UK’s cost-of-living crisis have put a lot of pressure on employers to increase wages and starting salaries this year, but a new survey suggests that there’s something that employees value more than pay – work-life balance.
HR and payroll software provider CIPHR polled over 1,000 UK workers to find out which job aspects matter most to them. Based on the results, over two-thirds (70 per cent of women and 65 per cent of men) see work-life balance – albeit a term that can mean different things to different people – as being more important than their pay and employee benefits combined (selected by 60 per cent of women and 57 per cent of men).
Having job security and feeling secure about the future of a role or organisation is the third most important consideration for over half of respondents, followed by job satisfaction (57 per cent and 53 per cent respectively).
Two-fifths (42 per cent) of employees rank a healthy work environment (42 per cent) within the top five most valuable aspects of a job. This can encompass numerous other factors, such as feeling psychologically and physically safe at work, feeling recognised, appreciated and valued, feeling trusted and included, and being listened to, among others.
In contrast, only around a quarter cite career advancement opportunities or job autonomy – the freedom and trust to do a job without being micromanaged – as important priorities (25 per cent and 24 per cent respectively).
Job purpose and variety, and learning and development initiatives, are also, surprisingly, even further down the list of importance, selected by just a fifth of workers (20 per cent and 18 per cent respectively). And, less than one in 10 (9 per cent) think regular coaching and feedback is an essential element of a job.
The top 20 most important aspects of a job, ranked by popularity, are:
1. Work-life balance (67 per cent)
2. Pay and benefits – total rewards package (59 per cent)
3. Job security (57 per cent)
4. Job satisfaction (53 per cent)
5. Healthy work environment (42 per cent)
6. Recognition: feeling valued and appreciated (37 per cent)
7. Feeling safe at work (36 per cent)
8. Feeling included / belonging at work (33 per cent)
9. Right to disconnect from work outside of usual working hours (26 per cent)
10. Promotion opportunities / career progression (25 per cent)
11. Job autonomy – trusted to do a job without being micromanaged (24 per cent)
12. Clear goals and targets (23 per cent)
13. Correct tools for the job (20 per cent)
14. Job purpose and variety (20 per cent)
15. Learning and development initiatives (18 per cent)
16. Social connection (18 per cent)
17. Team-oriented culture (17 per cent)
18. Transparent leadership (15 per cent)
19. Fewer meetings (9 per cent)
20. Regular coaching and feedback (9 per cent)
Notably, whether an employee has flexibility in where they work has a bearing on the results (although it doesn’t alter the order of the four most important job aspects – work-life balance, pay and benefits, job security, and job satisfaction).
Work-life balance is by far the most-valued job aspect for nearly four in five (79 per cent) remote workers, compared to two-thirds (66 per cent) of workers who are either partly remote or who never work from home.
The right to disconnect from work – and not feel obliged to do any unpaid work-related tasks outside of one’s contracted hours – also appears higher in the list for employees who work 100 per cent remotely, compared to those who don’t (36 per cent vs 25 per cent).
Analysis of the data shows that survey respondents in leadership and senior management team (SMT) roles are the most likely to work remotely in some capacity than those in non-SMT positions (70 per cent vs 50 per cent). They also have different job priorities than the rest of the workforce. For them, pay and benefits are only the fourth most important aspect of a job (46 per cent), after work-life balance (60 per cent), job satisfaction (52 per cent) and job security (51 per cent).
Having a good or healthy work-life balance is the most important aspect of a job for most workers, it’s not completely universal though. People working in finance and insurance are more likely to prize pay and benefits over work-life balance (60 per cent compared to 58 per cent respectively). For those in IT and software, job security tops pay and benefits and work-life balance (58 per cent compared to 54 per cent and 54 per cent). And manufacturing workers rate both work-life balance and pay and benefits equally (63 per cent).
Commenting on the results, Claire Williams, chief people officer at CIPHR, says: “CIPHR’s latest findings highlight that salary often isn’t the key driver that many people think it is. People rarely have just one single aspect of a job that matters most to them: there are always a variety of factors that govern whether an individual will join, stay, or leave an organisation, and these will vary depending on where they are with their career at the time.
“Everyone has their own idea of what work-life balance looks like to them.,” she says. “For some, it means looking for more flexibility at work – such as flexible hours, a four-day week, or remote working – while for others it’s an aspiration that helps shape their career choices, the type of roles they want, and the employers they want to work for. It’s certainly not a new concept, but there’s no doubt that the pandemic has spurred many people to re-evaluate their work-life priorities and change how they want to spend their time at work.
“While employers are still navigating what this means in the long term, they do need to recognise that if they are not meeting their staff’s current needs and priorities – particularly around any core job aspects that they want and value – it’s likely that another organisation will.”
