What matters most in a new role?
September 28th, 2026
We asked what matters most in a new role, and flexibility won comfortably. Pay still matters - it's a whisker behind progression - but it's no longer the thing people lead with.
Which sounds very 2026, until you look back. In the early 1990s, surveys put good wages firmly at the top of what workers wanted. But go back to the 1940s and workers ranked interesting work and feeling valued above pay.
For employers, the takeaway is simple: if your pitch is built on salary alone, you're answering a question candidates have stopped leading with.
It does make you wonder - what will matter most to candidates 15 years from now? 🧐
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Which sounds very 2026, until you look back. In the early 1990s, surveys put good wages firmly at the top of what workers wanted. But go back to the 1940s and workers ranked interesting work and feeling valued above pay.
For employers, the takeaway is simple: if your pitch is built on salary alone, you're answering a question candidates have stopped leading with.
It does make you wonder - what will matter most to candidates 15 years from now? 🧐