Everyone has their priorities when they go to work, and it appears for many it is not all about money.
For some, of course, that's just what it is. There are those who simply want to do whatever it takes to climb the career ladder and enrich themselves. Others, at the opposite end of the scale, may take whatever job they can get at the start of their working lives, or to end a period of unemployment.
Enjoyment is key
However, these are not the mindsets that dominate the thinking of most workers. A survey by CV-Library has revealed the two biggest issues for workers are pride and enjoyment. Quite simply, people want to have some fun doing what they do, and finish each day's labour with a sense of achievement in what they have accomplished.
Indeed, the survey found these sentiments were way ahead of money when it comes to worker priorities. No less than 83.6 per cent of those polled said enjoying work was a key measure of success, almost twice the 42.4 per cent who said a high salary was what mattered.
Indeed, a big pay packet only came fifth in the most popular definitions of career success. 73.8 per cent said pride in achievement was of great importance, followed by 57.1 per cent who listed making a big difference to the lives of others and 54.2 per cent who put a lot of emphasis on working for a company they love.
Career success is certainly something that most people - 79 per cent in fact - think is important. But it can be elusive; 64.1 per cent said they had not yet achieved it. Moreover, 28.4 per cent feel their career success is not defined by their own feelings about it, but how others regard the work that they do.
Commenting on the findings, founder and managing director of CV-Library Lee Biggins said:
“It’s positive to see that workers rate job satisfaction as the top measure of career success. This suggests that they’re putting their happiness first. It’s also evident that the company they work for plays a big role in how they view their success."
Limited company contractors, may find it much easier to achieve the goals of satisfaction and enjoyment. This is because self-employment ought to offer a clear route to some of these goals. Firstly, because there is not a manager higher up directing your work, people can take more control over what they want to do. This can include hours and the kind of work they do and don't wish to take on. This way, a feeling of enjoyment becomes all the easier to achieve because people can focus more on their priorities, not someone else's.
Career success is certainly something that most people - 79 per cent in fact - think is important. But it can be elusive; 64.1 per cent said they had not yet achieved it. Moreover, 28.4 per cent feel their career success is not defined by their own feelings about it, but how others regard the work that they do.
By setting your career goals independently, a sense of job satisfaction becomes much easier to achieve. Not only is it the specific kind of work people are doing that contributes to this, but also the sense of satisfaction in knowing that it is their very own business that is reaping the benefits from a good day's work, whether this actually results in a particularly large payday or just enough to make a decent living.
The idea of making a positive difference to other people's lives can tie in very easily with the goals of enjoyment and satisfaction. In the latter case, the link is obvious; it simply means that people find your own satisfaction in having done something good for others. Equally, if the thing they enjoy helps make someone else happy too, that only adds to the feel-good factor.
If any proof were needed that self-employment offers better prospects for enjoyment and satisfaction, research carried out by the universities of Sheffield and Exeter earlier this year across the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand found that those working for themselves are much more likely to be happy and engaged.
Explaining the findings, Peter Warr of the University of Sheffield said of the self employed: "They have the freedom to innovate, express their own views, have influence beyond their own role and compete with other companies and people.
“They really get to use their own expertise, so don’t seem to mind working long hours. They can find meeting high standards really fulfilling."
