A salary of around £44,000 pa, free tea or coffee during the day and a boss you can go for a pint with (or a glass of wine too, surely) – that’s what UK employees are looking for in their perfect job.
At least that’s what a recent survey of 2000 UK workers found. Those who responded to the questionnaire said they would also prefer a four-day week (or a 26-hour week), six weeks holiday every year and a day off on their birthday… pretty please.
And as for the dreaded commute well… no more than 17 minutes long, thank you very much! Bedford-based industrial and business equipment supplier Raja Workplace commissioned the survey to find out what their own clients were dealing with.
Raja Workplace’s Andrew Wood said, “There are so many different things employers must take into consideration when designing a workplace and a good environment for their employees.
“From comfy chairs to the layout of the office, and ensuring the office is stocked with plenty of tea and coffee – it’s clear from the survey results these are all things employees’ value very highly indeed.”
Other requests included a nice view and a good office atmosphere (a whopping 95 per cent of those who responded actually insisted on the latter). They would also like their workplace to be tidy, thank you very much. Another must is the comfort of their office chair.
This brings into play the whole current situation of working from home and whether employees actually want to return to the office. Right now with the rise in cases of the new Covid Omicron variant the government is already allowing companies to allow employees to work from home once again, if possible.
Actually, that four-day week might not be as far-fetched as some people think. One bank has already gone ahead and introduced this for staff.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Mullen @atom_bank said: “We firmly believe that this will prove beneficial for our employees’ wellbeing and happiness and that it will have an equally positive impact on business productivity and customer experience.”
Some employers need to do nothing more…
Actually, one encouraging sign for employers in the survey was the fact that around one third of those questioned felt that they already had their perfect job. The other two thirds admitted they were still looking around for something more suitable.
Gender still matters when it comes to salary
Meanwhile, the £44,000 salary is still the domain of middle managers and senior staff in large corporations. The average UK salary today is £31,487 for full-time workers. However, the gender pay gap still exists, according to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data. It showed that last year the average full-time employed male earned £33,414 compared with full-time females, who took home around £5,000 (or 18 per cent) a year less, at £28,305.
The age group who earn the most is those who have had time to build up their career and receive promotion (i.e. employees aged 40-49-years). The occupations that tend to be bringing home the higher wage packets (and reaching that golden £44,000 a year mark) are financial and insurance advisers, IT managers and utilities managers. Big earners also tend to be degree-educated.