{"id":354,"date":"2020-01-31T13:52:45","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T18:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/en-GB\/ideas\/?p=354&preview=true&preview_id=354"},"modified":"2021-03-26T19:13:07","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T19:13:07","slug":"what-employees-look-for-in-a-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/en-GB\/ideas\/professional-development\/management-leadership\/what-employees-look-for-in-a-job","title":{"rendered":"What do employees look for in a job?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So much of work can seem unpleasant: unnecessary meetings<\/a>, unreasonable bosses<\/a> a nemesis colleague<\/a>. But there are other aspects that can prove fulfilling to employees: a sense of being part of a larger mission<\/a> or the ability to work with friends<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge for businesses trying to keep their best performers happy and thriving is how to limit the unpleasant aspects while teasing out more of the fulfilling ones. With studies showing how time-consuming and difficult it is for businesses to find talent, working out what candidates look for in a job now is the first step in retaining the best ones.\u00a0
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Having a life helps at work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It has become far too easy to check your inbox on your phone just before bed, do little tasks like replying to emails or filing expenses on your day off, and take calls while on the move. A culture of overwork often creates a sense that this behaviour is expected of employees to get ahead, lest they be judged as lazy or insufficiently committed. The idea is damaging and counterproductive<\/a>, both for employees and their managers \u2013 and has understandably spurred a backlash and a loud call for moderation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, employees want to be well compensated for the work they do. But with work taking up ever more space in our lives, money is no longer the top aspect many people value in a job. A recent survey by WeWork<\/a> and The Aspen Institute’s Future of Work Initiative<\/a> shows that the characteristic that employees value most in the workplace is a work-life balance. Forty per cent of the 30,000 global workers surveyed for The Future of Work and Cities<\/a> said that a work-life balance is most important to them in a job, trumping those who cited pay (33 per cent) and benefits (28 per cent). These aspects were cited more frequently than opportunity for advancement, business outlook and quality of leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While work-life balance can seem like an ill-defined buzz phrase, it\u2019s best summed up as having the time and emotional space to separate work from one\u2019s personal life \u2013 to be able to, as much as possible, have a satisfying equilibrium between the time you work and the time you don\u2019t. For some, that might mean getting home in time to have dinner with family; for others, it\u2019s watching a film without being interrupted by a boss asking questions about the next deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arianna Huffington believed the issue of work-life balance was so overlooked and deprioritised by our culture that she launched a company dedicated to touting its benefits. Thrive Global<\/a>, a media company with a headquarters by WeWork, <\/a>is focused on ending the epidemic of overwork. The media executive founded the business in 2007, after she collapsed from sleep deprivation and exhaustion after working too much. She now advocates for maintaining clear boundaries between work and life, and practices what she preaches: she deliberately ignores her phone first thing in the morning in favour of meditation and exercise, and does focused work at home before heading into the office for meetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I\u2019m a big believer in the benefit of ruthless prioritisation and structuring your day so you can take care of what absolutely has to be done, and then declare an end to it and be OK with incompletions for what can wait,\u2019 she has said<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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