Brits want better careers - Americans want more cash

Jul 12 2006 by Nic Paton Print This Article

While the most common reason for Britons to quit their jobs is career advancement, elsewhere in the world it is the lure of hard cash that motivates most employees to jump ship.

An international study by recruitment firm Robert Walters found that compared with people in other countries, Britons are the least likely to quit their jobs because they do not get on with their colleagues.

Elsewhere in the world, however, the lure of a better salary remains the primary motivator for moving jobs.

This was very much the case in the U.S and South Africa as well as Hong Kong and Japan, where workers said were mostly motivated to move jobs for financial reward, with more than quarter leaving so they could earn more money.

In the UK, the most common reason for leaving a job, cited by half those polled, was simply career advancement rather than cash.

And clashes with bosses, cited by four out of 10 people in Belgium and a quarter of those in the Netherlands, were less of a factor in the UK too.

In fact, just one in 10 per cent of the 3,170 people polled said they would leave their jobs because of personality clashes.

"In the UK we are highly motivated and an ambitious nation. While this research shows that salary and where you work are important, it's good to know that we aren't just in it for the money!" said Oliver Harris, director of contract recruitment at Robert Walters.

"We all like to be rewarded for working hard, but for many people this doesn't just mean a big bonus," he added.

As a nation, the British were highly motivated by the notion of career development, with one in five moving on to progress up the career ladder.

Promotion and getting valuable experience were seen by Britons as far more important than earning more money – a higher salary lured just one in 10 to change jobs.

Rather more – some 14 per cent - left their work because of geography, particularly because of arduous commute or because they and their family moved to another part of the country.