PA life
Roccabella

Career success defined by British workers

Woman enjoying career success

Workers who have their own office, designated car parking space and earn at least ยฃ56,000 have achieved โ€˜ultimate career successโ€™, a study has found.

According to researchers, those people at the pinnacle of their careers will also be owners of a top-of-the-range company car, and their own property. Other indicators of success in the workplace are never having to work past 4.45pm, answering to no one, and having a personal parking space.

Having at least six โ€˜flexibleโ€™ days and maintaining an easy work-life balance also show someone has โ€˜made itโ€™ on the career ladder according to respondents.

A spokesman for specialist recruitment company REED recruitment, which conducted the study of 2000 workers, said: โ€œThis shows that many British workers have clear aspirations of what their futures could look like, and are ambitious in their targets. This shows optimism in the UKโ€™s workforce, and that is positive for the economy.

โ€œWhile many respondents donโ€™t yet feel they have achieved ultimate success in their careers, a good three in 10 believe theyโ€™re on the right path.โ€

The study shows UK workers want a degree of flexibility in the benefits they are allowed to take โ€“ given the choice, theyโ€™d like to have up to seven weeksโ€™ holiday every year. Having enough free time to enjoy at least seven days with the family each month is also a key part of having achieved ultimate career success.

Perks that indicate a person is top of their game include an excellent pension, health care for the entire family and a well-paying bonus scheme. A third of Brits claim the key to career success is having their own PA or secretary to manage their diary (imagine that).

And the study reveals that the ideal age for achieving this ultimate career success is 40; by this point workers hope to have secured themselves respect in the workplace and that all important work-life balance.

Expectations are that a person would have had at least four job roles before getting to the stage where they were at the peak of their career.

15% of respondents claim a gym membership would be a sign of success in the workplace, while 11% would like to have two computer screens on their desk. Just leaving work on time would be a perk according to 21% of Brits, while a further fifth would relish the opportunity to have a say in their companyโ€™s strategy.

The REED spokesperson added: โ€œFor candidates, the best way to get on the path to career success is to check youโ€™re in the right role. Compare your salary to others at your level, and if youโ€™re not being paid enough or think you deserve more, the ideal next step is to see if there are other jobs out there that could better meet your needs.

โ€œThink about the package as a whole, weighing up factors like holiday, flexibility and ultimately โ€“ take home pay.โ€

Visitย reedglobal.com/salarycalculatorย to find out how much you should be earning.