Do you realize that the average professional spends about half of their waking adult life working? That sucks. It also makes you realize that if you’re going to put in that many hours, you better enjoy it as much as possible. With that in mind, LinkedIn surveyed their half a billion LinkedIn members to find out what it takes for them to get out of bed every day.
Here are the results of their study which finds the necessities from yesteryear are no longer relevant today (other than the “work hard, make money” cliché that might never change). Here are the top 5 characteristics professionals want in a job.
Flexibility
Today’s workers demand flexibility in their schedule. In fact, more than a third (34%) of professionals would take a 10% pay-cut in exchange for being their own boss. Only 4% want a corner office. And 86% don’t care if their peers admire their career.
Financial Stability…And Then Some
Passion smassion. LinkedIn found that two out of five professionals don’t put a lot of stock in being passionate about their job. For 69% of respondents, they work simply to pay the bills. And for nearly three-quarters (74%) of professionals polled, even that’s not enough. They work hard at several jobs so they don’t have to worry about money at all.
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As LinkedIn explains, “This motivation is helping to usher in the age of the side hustle. Whether it’s moonlighting in an art gallery or building websites on the weekends, more than one-third of professionals today (36%) find success in pursuing a passion project or side job.
To Be An Inspiration To Others
The majority of professionals (87%) report wanting to feel that they’re an inspiration to others over accomplishments. Nearly 40% of professionals say they feel most successful when teaching others. If you want to volunteer, you can check out resources like the LinkedIn Volunteer Marketplace to see how your skills align with nearby volunteer opportunities, and LinkedIn Career Advice which connects you with mentorship opportunities.
New Skills
Learning a new skill set on the job is the top priority for professionals in 2018. Almost 90 percent (89%) feel that skills are even more important than job titles.
Open Relationship
Almost two-thirds (65%) of American professionals say they like to keep their job options open in order to beat career FOMO. To stay ahead of the game, they are motivated to network inside and outside of the workplace. So, even if they’re not technically in the office, they’re still working (it).
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States among 2,000 U.S. adults aged 18+ who are either in permanent full-time or part-time employment or full-time self employed/freelance.
