Salary or work-life balance, which one holds more weight for you?

What factors do you consider most important when choosing a job: work-life balance, salary, career prospects...? According to the annual Randstad Employer Brand Research 2017 report by Randstad, 63% of Spaniards consider salary as the most important factor when choosing a job. 55% of those surveyed value the balance between family and work life, placing this factor in second position. Other factors that Spaniards value include a good working environment, job stability, and stimulating work.

Internationally, the most valued factors are salary and long-term job security, although they are losing importance in favor of factors like work-life balance, which is in third place with 45%.

Work-life balance gaining importance

Although salary remains the most important factor for Spaniards when evaluating a job, work-life balance has been gaining importance over the years in our country, increasing by 10 points in the last year. This has led many companies to implement work-life balance measures for their employees according to a study conducted by InfoJobs and ESADE. This study, which surveyed over 1,000 companies and 3,000 employees, reveals that large companies, 77% of them, are the ones that implement the most work-life balance measures. The most widespread measure is the flexibility in working hours, with 76% of companies implementing this, increasing to 82% for medium and large companies.

The second most implemented measure is allowing employees to take time off to accompany family members to medical appointments, implemented in 53% of the surveyed companies. 38% of companies offer personal days off and 36.5% offer a schedule that ends at noon on Fridays.

On the other hand, the least implemented measures in companies are extra days for paternity and maternity leave beyond what the law establishes, only 7%, or providing a daycare service, which only 2% of companies offer. These measures, along with year-round shortened hours and telecommuting, are less popular due to the difficulty in implementing them.

For you, what factors are most important when choosing a job? Do you believe that work-life balance measures benefit or harm the company?