So you want to be boss for the day?

Research has revealed what employers and employees really wish for. By Sarah Vaux, freelance journalist.

Half of the UK’s employees believe they could do a better job than their bosses, according to a survey. But only 27% actually want the boss’s job. Long hours and stress were cited as the two main reasons for this.

ICLP questioned more than 1,000 employees about their attitude to work and how they would change their terms of employment if they were the boss. Not surprisingly, more money was the overriding consideration, although 85% knew this was not feasible or, at least, unlikely.

Some of the most common requirements were as follows: 

• flexitime (63%)
• extra holiday if no sick leave taken during the year (59%)
• free transport to work (53%)
• an email-free day (31%)
• six months’ paid holiday for every 10 years at a company (29%)
• getting rid of those who did not pull their weight (21%)
• medical screenings for everyone over 50, every two years (19%); and
• days off for children’s sports day (18%).

Stuart Evans, general manager of ICLP, said: ‘The new employment currency is flexibility. People want jobs that can fit around their chosen lifestyle. Employers who recognise this will prosper.’

Reality check

The survey found that 59% of both employers and employees would prefer to choose the age that they retire. Of these, more than three quarters said they would like to retire after the legal age of retirement. Despite the prospect of a dramatically reduced pension, 19% said they would like to take early retirement.

Time, please

Employers and employees were also asked what they wanted from each other. In order of importance, employees said they would like the following:

• enough time to do the job completely
• to be supported by their bosses
• to be given additional responsibility
• not to have to stay late
• for their talent to be rewarded
• for instructions to be clear and concise.

Employees were more loyal if they felt their company scored well on at least three of the above.

Don’t worry, be happy

Employers wanted their employees to be on time, be responsible, be fast, yet most importantly, to be content. Evans said: ‘The good news is that most employers recognise that a happy workforce is a productive one.’

Around 37% of employees said they were happy at their place of work. A quarter were very unhappy but the majority of these were not looking to change jobs. According to Evans, people who feel that they are trapped in a job are less likely to enjoy it, regardless of other rewards.

December 2006