Money or the job

Building a career is more important to workers than bringing home a big wage, as employees strive for job satisfaction, research shows.

This year’s Towers Watson Global Workforce Study finds 80 per cent of Australian workers want a secure and stable job as the top requirement on their career wish list, while 66 per cent want the opportunity to rapidly develop their skills.

A wide range of jobs and experiences is sought by 65 per cent of workers.

Of lesser concern is receiving a higher level of compensation, with 64 per cent of workers wanting more money for their work.

University of Adelaide Centre for Labour Research executive director, Associate Professor John Spoehr, says money remains high on a worker’s priority list but the value of a big pay cheque does evolve during a worker’s career.

Younger workers can be more money driven. Older workers, without mortgages and families, tend to be more driven by job satisfaction, he says.

“They are a little less choosy about the early stages of their career about the sort of work they’re likely to undertake. They’re wanting a safe transition into the labour market,” he says.

“As workers get older and have the prospect of a family and do have children, that’s where career needs change a little bit, in particular in relation to financial rewards for jobs.”

The Global Workforce Study finds career development is the most important reason for a worker to stay or leave their job, followed by leadership opportunities.

Pay and rewards was ranked in third place.

Australian workers value acquiring the skills for other jobs and to perform better and achieving a higher status as signs of career advancement ahead of making more money.

Pay and rewards was the top reason identified globally of career advancement.

Prof Spoehr says workers aged in their mid-20s to mid-30s are more likely to be focused on the financial aspects of a job because of their desire to get into the housing market and cater for the needs of their family.

On ladder to success

“That’s not to say work satisfaction is not important to them,” he says. “It’s often necessary they are able to make more rapid career advancements, leading to higher remuneration.”

He says there has been a shift in the past decade for financial rewards to be more important as house prices have risen and paying off a mortgage takes more of an income.

More workers, however, are more willing to change to another role which pays a similar wage to increase job satisfaction than in previous generations. “I think young people are a little more discerning about the quality of their work than previous generations were,” he says. “We often hear the baby boomers say they were prepared to do anything when they left school. I think younger people are a little reluctant to do that and probably have more options available to them to not do that.”

The survey also found 64 per cent of employees would prefer to work for between one and three organisations in their career and 29 per cent wanted to remain at one firm.

Towers Watson employee survey practice leader Lesley Brown says employers can keep good staff by building on the loyalty shown in the survey. “Employees focus on a longer-term commitment to their employer in return for job security combined with a clear career path, skills development and leadership from managers who can emotionally connect with their workforce,” he says. “The vast majority of employees accept the responsibility for managing their own financial future but employers can equip them to act by giving them the tools and training for them to be confident and successful.”

Most Australian workers, at 81 per cent, believe career advancement is up to them to control, rather than their employer, compared with 74 per cent globally.

Chasecrown project manager Adam Garrod, 37, says money is important but he values the challenge and the type of work more so. “I get a lot of enjoyment out of building architectural design products and homes,” he says.

He says workers in the industry can start out as a labourer with no qualifications and study and work their way up into more senior positions. He started in demolition and studied through the Master Builder’s Association while working to progress his career. “I built my level of skill and got a few bits and pieces along the way. That’s landed me where I am,” he says.

Article from The Advertiser, June, 2010.