PwC survey: Half of job seekers are willing to trade a part of their salary for flexibility and a third would do so for upskilling programmes

Job seekers are willing to trade an average of 11.7% of their salary for flexibility and more than a third of candidates said they’d be willing to take a pay cut for a chance to learn new skills, according to a PwC US survey “The future of recruiting”.

That figure rises to 12.4% among those working in in-demand fields like technology.

“Salary and benefits almost always come first for job seekers. Lately, there’s been a global tendency to give up a part of remuneration for a benefits package, such as opportunities for training and upskilling, inclusion and personal flexibility in when and where they work. Employees’ interest in upskilling programmes has increased recently as a result of the extremely rapid transformations generated by new technologies with a major impact, including on the workforce. Thus, many employees are aware that they must improve their digital skills to remain competitive in the labour market,” said Ionuț Sas, Partner, People & Organisation Leader, PwC România.

An employer’s reputation and recruiting experience are also very important for candidates when accepting a job.

According to the survey, 92% of candidates say they’ve experienced poor recruiting practices at some point in their career, with over 60% being unsatisfied that a recruiting process takes longer than a month or because the recruiters suddenly stopped communicating without any explanation. Nearly half (49%) of job seekers working in in-demand fields like technology, banks or energy say they’ve turned down an offer because of a bad experience during the hiring process, with 56% saying they’d discourage others from applying due to negative recruiting experiences.

 The main conclusion of the report:

• Slightly over half (51%) would forgo higher salaries for more flexibility.
• 37% of candidates said they’d be willing to take a pay cut for a chance to develop new skills.
• The same percentage said they see upskilling opportunities as the most important factor in deciding on a new job, after salary and benefits.
• 62% of job seekers said they’re more likely to apply for a job where a company is openly committed to improving diversity and inclusion in their workforce.
• Candidates want positive, direct human interaction throughout the recruiting process and less use of automation technology.
• However, 44% of candidates said they’re open to using automation and technology options for routine contact, and to get information during the recruiting process, and 65% of candidates said they would like organisations to have an application dashboard so they can see where they are in the process.
• 78% said they expect the recruiting process to be clear on how personal data is used.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 158 countries with over 276,000 people committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com. PwC refers to the PwC network and / or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.

Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.