Work-life balance afforded by flexible and remote working outpaces salary as what attracts employees the most
LONDON, ENGLAND — A new survey has found that workers are now ranking work-life balance even higher than salary.
Aviva found that more workers surveyed were attracted to their current role for the work-life balance than the salary.
The findings indicate a continued strong appetite for flexible working options, including remote work, that allow British workers to have more control over their lives outside of being stuck at a physical desk for the better part of the workweek.
According to a study conducted by Aviva, a UK pensions provider, “more workers surveyed said they were attracted to their current role for the work-life balance (41 per cent) than the salary (36 per cent).”
“This is a switch in rankings compared to 2019, before the pandemic, when more workers said they were attracted to the salary (41.02 per cent), closely followed by work-life balance in second place (40.97 per cent),” the organisation noted.
In fact, Aviva found that almost 9 in 10 employees said workplace benefits other than salary “improve their overall happiness”.
Flexible work taking precedence
Remote Worker CEO Joseph Boll.
Remote Worker CEO Joseph Boll said the new findings underscore why more British companies ought to seriously consider making remote work a permanent part of their operations.
“Flexible working options are taking precedence more and more,” Boll said.
“It almost seems like the more companies try to force people to return to the office, the more workers are really rethinking what they want out of their work environment.
“Remote work allows employees to have that work-life balance that they seek.
“Even further, many are now demanding it and simply opting to leave and work for another company that will offer it.
“This is why Remote Worker was founded.
“Even before the pandemic, we recognized that remote work would be revolutionising the way we work and live and wanted to provide resources for those who want to find or hire for remote work positions.
“Remote work is here to stay. It’s up to companies to act accordingly.”
Gender preferences
Surveys are finding women care more about flexible work options than men.
Additionally, the survey found that women care more about work-life balance than men.
“Of those surveyed, more male employees still said they were attracted to salary (43 per cent) over work-life balance (34 per cent), compared to female employees who picked work-life balance (44 per cent) over salary (33 per cent),” Aviva summarised.
This coincides with the recent findings of a TopCV survey on remote work, which found that more women wanted remote work options than men.
In that survey, 59 per cent of women, as compared to just 42 per cent of men, ranked remote work as the job benefit that matters most to them.
Such findings suggest “remote work is enabling more people to balance their parental duties with career obligations”, according to TopCV.
Find the latest remote jobs in the UK at Remote Worker.
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