The ‘must-haves’ jobseekers want in better work | Careers News

Do you like your job?

Well, if you’re reading this, chances are you may be looking for your next move. With 1 in 9 Brits believing they don’t have a ‘good’ job according to new research from global matching and hiring platform Indeed, you’re not alone.

Luckily, there are ways to make the job search easier than ever because, let’s be honest, better work leads to better lives.

On average, we spend over 77,000 hours at work over our lifetime, which, fun fact, is the equivalent of a sixth of our waking lives. As such, your job can have a huge impact on the quality of your life.

Be that as it may, a recent survey of 5,000 UK workers conducted by Indeed reveals that for those Brits who don’t think their job is ‘good’, the top reasons include unfair pay (41%), lack of management support and empathy (37%) and lack of development opportunities in the role (29%).

So what does better work look like?

Well, according to those Indeed spoke to, fair pay (39%), flexible hours (36%) and job security (31%) are the definition of a good job today.

However, although fair pay is clearly important , almost two-thirds (65%) would actually be willing to take a pay cut for greener grass, with respondents prepared to cut an average of 9% off their salary to gain an overall better job.

In cold hard cash, this means that the average worker surveyed would be willing to take a £3,696 pay cut – and the research suggests that a wish for greater flexibility is what’s driving this willingness to sacrifice salary even in the economic storm we’re in today. In fact, 60% agree that flexible working opportunities have become more important to them when considering the cost of living crisis.

It doesn’t come as much surprise then that a four-day work week (28%), a better work-life balance (25%) and more flexible working opportunities (17%) are the factors that would most encourage Brits to take a salary cut.

Workers also have a fair idea of what they think the future of better work will look like, with 37% saying fair pay, followed by flexible hours being the default (33%) and the aforementioned four-day week being the norm at 30%. 

What’s stopping people from getting better work?

Knowing that better work is out there is one thing, having the capacity to go out there and find a new job is another.

It’s not surprising then that the research shows that more than two-thirds (69%) say that looking for a job is a job in itself, while 62% believe finding a job is largely down to luck or timing. 66% of those surveyed say searching for a job is overwhelming and time-consuming, with only a few relevant jobs to apply for.

Adding insult to injury, over a quarter (27%) cite a lack of confidence and 23% say a personal lack of financial security is what’s holding them back from searching for a better role. It’s clear from the research that Brits think finding a new job at the moment is too difficult and for some, too risky.

Age also seems to be a barrier to better work. Almost half (48%) of those over 55 who are unsatisfied with their current employment think that their age is stopping them from getting a better job. At the other end of their careers, 28% of Gen-Z workers say the same thing about their age holding them back, alongside a lack of experience (40%) and the third (33%) who said confidence was a major issue too.

And it may come as little surprise that in the survey women, in particular, were more likely to cite a lack of confidence as a barrier to better work (30%) compared to men (24%).

Find better work with Indeed

With all this in mind, searching for a better role can feel even more overwhelming and time-consuming. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Although the research shows that many are still facing a crisis of confidence when it comes to looking for a new job, with Indeed, finding better work doesn’t need to be such a leap of faith.

Indeed’s tools are there to help you connect with the work and employer that matters to you. Whether that’s by helping you to understand average salaries for the role and experience level you’re interviewing for with the Salary Tool, or to find out more about the company’s culture and whether it could be a good fit for you through millions of reviews on the Company Page.

Let’s be honest, finding a job can often be down to timing, but luckily the latest matching technologies on Indeed help you find better work even when you’re not looking by notifying you with a curated list of good matches through email alerts when you opt in.

These matching technologies are also streamlining the application process so that it’s better targeted and focuses on making quality connections between you and your next star role. Because finding better work shouldn’t have to feel like a second job.

Every day, on average, Indeed uses more than 140 million qualifications and preferences voluntarily shared by jobseekers and employers to help them connect to each other, offering better job matches than anyone else. The latest updates are already making a big impact, with Indeed now proudly facilitating 23 hires per minute (that’s more than double from three years ago, pre-pandemic).

Before you know it, you could be one of them, and Sundays will be anything but scary.

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