What do employees from around the world look for in a job?

Companies are always looking for new ways to boost the productiveness of their employees – whether it's Google's free breakfasts or Richard Branson's announcement that some of his Virgin staff can take unlimited holiday.

But what do employees really look for in a job? "Many businesses wrongly assume money is the primary motivator for staff, but throwing money at recruitment may be the least effective option – particularly in the UK," says Jean Martin, executive director at CEB. "Of course it's important, but most UK employees aren't chasing the best pay packages. Instead the top three factors they care about are work-life balance, location and stability." This is according to the CEB global labour market survey of 18,000 employees around the world, who were asked to rank the top five factors most important to them when choosing an organisation to work for.

Work-life balance

The number one priority for UK employees is work-life balance. Just over half of people (53.7%) put it first in their top five, and so did employees in Australia, Singapore and India.

"A work-life balance creates happiness. The more you work, the more likely you are to have relationship strains, and there's evidence throughout psychology that the things that make us happy are family and relationships," says Emma Kenny, qualified psychologist.

But when considering a job or company, how can you make sure you'll be able to achieve this sought-after balance? The interview is your best chance, says Kenny: "It's a good idea to ask about staff turnover, occupational health and the longevity of positions. These things will show whether they have you at the heart of their company."

Ask about whether you'll be expected to work long hours and their stance on getting time back in lieu. Kenny also urges people to trust their instinct and how they feel in the interview to judge the organisation.

Stability

Brazil, China, Germany and India all ranked job stability low on their top 10 list. This is because those economies are doing relatively well, suggests job search coach and editor of win-that-job.com, Jon Gregory. However, the economies in South Africa, UK, US and Canada have all been affected by the recession so stability has risen as a more desirable thing.

If you are looking for stability within an organisation, Gregory advises jobseekers to look at the behaviour and responses of people from the organisation during the recruitment process: "Inconsistency suggests internal stresses, which in turn suggest pressure which may be financial. Any evidence of disorganisation indicates reduced chance of job stability."

Doing your research can also help assess whether you'll have a secure position with the company. Look at the organisation's performance in the market, recent developments, ranking in the industry, its ambitions and future plans, says Gregory.

Future career opportunities

The UK ranked career progression with the organisation as fifth most important. But while it's important for employees, companies aren't taking it so seriously. Career coach Hannah Morton-Hedges feels companies aren't good at promoting their staff and making the most of talent they have. And employees aren't doing enough to make their career expectations clear to the employer, so it's important once you're in a job to tell your manager where you want to go.

"I often find people aren't willing to research their careers properly. Companies can be very good at giving this spiel but try to get some inside information to find out whether a it is doing what it claims. Use your networks and find someone who has worked for the organisation who can give you the low down," says Morton-Hedges. Asking the right questions in interviews without putting the interviewer off is also a useful way to find out about opportunities for promotion and development.

Location

For people who don't want to uproot and move homes, the location of a company's offices can often be a deciding factor in choosing an organisation. People in the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Germany and the Nordic regions include this in their top four priorities.

It may become more or less important throughout your career. For example, when a company decides to move its headquarters this can have a huge impact on its employees, as Laura Cooper found out. After her company moved its base from a converted barn in the scenic countryside of Berkshire to Reading town centre.

Despite being only 10 miles further, it ended up quadrupling her half an hour commute: "It was worlds apart in terms of location. It was on a busy roundabout and next to a police station. I never thought location would be such a massive issue for me, I used to commute to London as part of a previous job and that never bothered me." Cooper's solution was to start her own business, Pink Spaghetti PA services, from her home.

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