Accountancy & Finance workers reveal career priorities
With research revealing workers in accountancy and finance jobs rate job satisfaction and work-life balance as more important than salary, recruitment specialist REED is urging employers to give consideration to their recruitment and retention strategies. The poll of more than 1,600 workers by YouGov, in association with the launch of the REED 2015 Salary Guides, questioned workers on their attitudes to work, career aspirations and regrets. It found that 39% of finance workers claimed good job satisfaction is the single most important aspect of working life, followed by the need for good work-life balance (29%), showing it's no longer just about the salary package, which received just 17% votes. Results revealed – what matters most across the ages 18-24 Salary and benefits (38%) Career carousel While just over one in ten workers (14%) in finance jobs have stayed loyal to the same employer over the course of their career, almost twice as many (26%) have moved workplaces more than seven times. When asked why they changed employer, workers reported better prospects for promotion (40%), better salary (39%) and boredom with their current role (33%) as the top three motivators. Robert Russell, senior divisional manager at Reed Finance, said: "In a candidate-led market such as this, employers need to think hard about how they attract and retain staff for accountancy and finance roles. What this research shows is that although salary is very important, now we're out of the recession it's no longer just about pay – employers need to consider many other factors, such as flexible working and how they can offer the greatest job satisfaction. "Our research shows that in the last 12 months, 27% of accountancy and finance workers received some form of pay rise and almost a quarter (22%) received a bonus – yet 1 in 5 (21%) have received no benefits. Employers need to start taking action and think wider than just the salary package." |
